The pincer movement, or double envelopment, is a military maneuver in which forces simultaneously attack both flanks (sides) of an enemy formation.

The pincer movement typically occurs when opposing forces advance towards the center of an army that responds by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks to surround it. At the same time, a second layer of pincers may attack on the more distant flanks to keep reinforcements from the target units.

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A full pincer movement leads to the attacking army facing the enemy in front, on both flanks, and in the rear. If attacking pincers link up in the enemy's rear, the enemy is encircled. Such battles often end in surrender or destruction of the enemy force, but the encircled force can try to break out. They can attack the encirclement from the inside to escape, or a friendly external force can attack from the outside to open an escape route.

Sun Tzu, in The Art of War (traditionally dated to the 6th century BC), speculated on the maneuver but advised against trying it for fear that an army would likely run first before the move could be completed. He argued that it was best to allow the enemy a path to escape (or at least the appearance of one), as the target army would fight with more ferocity when completely surrounded, but it would lose formation and be more vulnerable to destruction if shown an avenue of escape.

The maneuver may have first been used at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. The historian Herodotus describes how the Athenian general Miltiades deployed 10,000 Athenian and 900 Plataeanhoplite forces in a U-formation, with the wings manned much more deeply than the centre. His enemy outnumbered him heavily, and Miltiades chose to match the breadth of the Persian battle line by thinning out the centre of his forces while reinforcing the wings. In the course of the battle, the weaker central formations retreated, allowing the wings to converge behind the Persian battle line and drive the more numerous, but lightly armed Persians to retreat in panic.

The tactic was used by Alexander the Great at the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC. Launching his attack at the Indian left flank, the Indian king Porus reacted by sending the cavalry on the right of his formation around in support. Alexander had positioned two cavalry units on the left of his formation, hidden from view, under the command of Coenus and Demitrius. The units were then able to follow Porus's cavalry around, trapping them in a classic pincer movement. That tactically-astute move from Alexander was key in ensuring what many regard as his last great victory.

The most famous example of its use was at the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC, when Hannibal executed the maneuver against the Romans. Military historians view it as one of the greatest battlefield maneuvers in history and cite it as the first successful use of the pincer movement that was recorded in detail,[1] by the Greek historian Polybius.

Genghis Khan used a rudimentary form known colloquially as the horns tactic. Two enveloping flanks of horsemen surrounded the enemy, but they usually remained unjoined, leaving the enemy an escape route to the rear, as described above. It was key to many of Genghis's early victories over other Mongolian tribes.

Even in the horse-and-musket era, the manoeuvre was used across many military cultures. A classic double envelopment was deployed by the Asiatic conqueror Nader Shah at the Battle of Kirkuk (1733) against the Ottomans; the Persian army, under Nader, flanked the Ottomans on both ends of their line and encircled their centre despite being numerically at a disadvantage. In another battle at Kars in 1745, Nader routed the Ottoman army and subsequently encircled their encampment. The Ottoman army soon after collapsed under the pressure of the encirclement. Also during the famous Battle of Karnal in 1739, Nader drew out the Mughal army which outnumbered his own force by over six to one, and managed to encircle and utterly decimate a significant contingent of the Mughals in an ambush around Kunjpura village.

The manoeuvre was used in the blitzkrieg of the armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Then, rather than a mere infantry maneuver, it developed into a complex, multi-discipline endeavour that involved fast movement by mechanized armor, artillery barrages, air force bombardment, and effective radio communications, with the primary objective of destroying enemy command and control chains, undermining enemy troop morale and disrupting supply lines. During the Battle of Kiev (1941) the Axis forces managed to encircle the largest number of soldiers in the history of warfare. Well over half a million Soviet soldiers were taken prisoner by the end of the operation.

1.
Battle of Cannae
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The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War that took place on 2 August 216 BC in Apulia, in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage, under Hannibal, surrounded and decisively defeated an army of the Roman Republic under the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. It is regarded both as one of the greatest tactical feats in history and as one of the worst defeats in Roman history. Having recovered from their losses at Trebia and Lake Trasimene, the Romans decided to engage Hannibal at Cannae, with roughly 86,000 Roman, the Romans massed their heavy infantry in a deeper formation than usual, while Hannibal utilized the double-envelopment tactic. This was so successful that the Roman army was destroyed as a fighting force. Following the defeat, Capua and several other Italian city-states defected from the Roman Republic to Carthage, shortly after the start of the Second Punic War, the Carthaginian general Hannibal crossed into Italy by traversing the Pyrenees and the Alps during the summer and early autumn. He quickly won major victories over the Romans at Trebia and at Lake Trasimene, after these losses, the Romans appointed Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus as dictator to deal with the threat. Fabius used attrition warfare against Hannibal, cutting off his supply lines, the majority of Romans were eager to see a quick conclusion to the war. It was feared that, if Hannibal continued plundering Italy unopposed, therefore, when Fabius came to the end of his term, the Senate did not renew his dictatorial powers and command was given to consuls Gnaeus Servilius Geminus and Marcus Atilius Regulus. But on this occasion, so great was the alarm and terror of what would happen, they resolved to bring not only four, Rome typically employed four legions each year, each consisting of four thousand foot soldiers and two hundred cavalry. Eight legions, some 40,000 Roman soldiers and an estimated 2,400 cavalry, however, some have suggested that the destruction of an army of 90,000 troops would be impossible. They argue that Rome probably had 48,000 troops and 6,000 cavalry against Hannibals 35,000 troops and 10,000 cavalry, Livy quotes one source stating the Romans added only 10,000 men to their usual army. While no definitive number of Roman troops exists, all agree that the Carthaginians faced a considerably larger foe. Consuls were each assigned two of the four legions to command, rarely employing all four legions at once to the same assignment, however, the Senate feared a real threat and not only employed all four legions into the field, but all eight, including allies. Ordinarily, each of the two consuls would command his own portion of the army, but since the two armies were combined into one, Roman law required them to alternate their command on a daily basis. The traditional account puts Varro in command on the day of the battle, however, his low origins seem to be exaggerated in the sources, and Varro may have been made a scapegoat by the aristocratic establishment. In the spring of 216 BC, Hannibal took the initiative and seized the large depot at Cannae, in the Apulian plain. Hannibal recently harvested his crops so he had an army ready for action in the city of Cannae

2.
Flanders
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Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, although there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics and history. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, the demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although Brussels itself has an independent regional government, in historical contexts, Flanders originally refers to the County of Flanders, which around AD1000 stretched from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. In accordance with late 20th century Belgian state reforms the area was made two political entities, the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a cultural mandate, covers Brussels. Flanders has figured prominently in European history, as a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of northern Italy. Belgium was one of the centres of the 19th century industrial revolution, geographically, Flanders is generally flat, and has a small section of coast on the North Sea. Much of Flanders is agriculturally fertile and densely populated, with a density of almost 500 people per square kilometer. It touches France to the west near the coast, and borders the Netherlands to the north and east, the Brussels Capital Region is an enclave within the Flemish Region. Flanders has exclaves of its own, Voeren in the east is between Wallonia and the Netherlands and Baarle-Hertog in the consists of 22 exclaves surrounded by the Netherlands. It comprises 6.5 million Belgians who consider Dutch to be their mother tongue, the political subdivisions of Belgium, the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community. The first does not comprise Brussels, whereas the latter does comprise the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels, the political institutions that govern both subdivisions, the operative body Flemish Government and the legislative organ Flemish Parliament. The two westernmost provinces of the Flemish Region, West Flanders and East Flanders, forming the central portion of the historic County of Flanders, a feudal territory that existed from the 8th century until its absorption by the French First Republic. Until the 1600s, this county also extended over parts of France, one of the regions conquered by the French in Flanders, namely French Flanders in the Nord department. French Flanders can be divided into two regions, Walloon Flanders and Maritime Flanders. The first region was predominantly French-speaking already in the 1600s, the latter became so in the 20th century, the city of Lille identifies itself as Flemish, and this is reflected, for instance, in the name of its local railway station TGV Lille Flandres. The region conquered by the Dutch Republic in Flanders, now part of the Dutch province of Zeeland, the significance of the County of Flanders and its counts eroded through time, but the designation remained in a very broad sense. In the Early modern period, the term Flanders was associated with the part of the Low Countries

3.
Battle of France
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The Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940 during the Second World War. Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940 and attempted an invasion of France, the German plan for the invasion of France consisted of two main operations. After the withdrawal of the BEF, the German forces began Fall Rot on 5 June, the sixty remaining French divisions made a determined resistance but were unable to overcome the German air superiority and armoured mobility. German tanks outflanked the Maginot Line and pushed deep into France, German forces occupied Paris unopposed on 14 June after a chaotic period of flight of the French government that led to a collapse of the French army. German commanders met with French officials on 18 June with the goal of forcing the new French government to accept an armistice that amounted to surrender and this led to the end of the French Third Republic. France was not liberated until the summer of 1944, in 1939, Britain and France offered military support to Poland in the likely case of a German invasion. In the dawn of 1 September 1939, the German Invasion of Poland began, France and the United Kingdom declared war on 3 September, after an ultimatum for German forces to immediately withdraw their forces from Poland was met without reply. Following this, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, on 7 September, in accordance with their alliance with Poland, France began the Saar Offensive with an advance from the Maginot Line 5 km into the Saar. France had mobilised 98 divisions and 2,500 tanks against a German force consisting of 43 divisions, the French advanced until they met the then thin and undermanned Siegfried Line. On 17 September, the French supreme commander, Maurice Gamelin gave the order to withdraw French troops to their starting positions, following the Saar Offensive, a period of inaction called the Phoney War set in between the belligerents. Adolf Hitler had hoped that France and Britain would acquiesce in the conquest of Poland, on 6 October, he made a peace offer to both Western powers. On 9 October, Hitler issued a new Führer-Directive Number 6, the plan was based on the seemingly more realistic assumption that German military strength would have to be built up for several years. For the moment only limited objectives could be envisaged and were aimed at improving Germanys ability to survive a long war in the west. Hitler ordered a conquest of the Low Countries to be executed at the shortest possible notice to forestall the French and it would also provide the basis for a long-term air and sea campaign against Britain. On 10 October 1939, Britain refused Hitlers offer of peace and on 12 October, colonel-General Franz Halder, presented the first plan for Fall Gelb on 19 October. This was the codename of plans for a campaign in the Low Countries. Halders plan has been compared to the Schlieffen Plan, the given to the German strategy of 1914 in the First World War. It was similar in both plans entailed an advance through the middle of Belgium

4.
Battle of Stalingrad
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Marked by fierce close quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians by air raids, it is often regarded as one of the single largest and bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. German forces never regained the initiative in the East and withdrew a vast military force from the West to replace their losses, the German offensive to capture Stalingrad began in August 1942, using the German 6th Army and elements of the 4th Panzer Army. The attack was supported by intensive Luftwaffe bombing that reduced much of the city to rubble, the fighting degenerated into house-to-house fighting, and both sides poured reinforcements into the city. By mid-November 1942, the Germans had pushed the Soviet defenders back at great cost into narrow zones along the west bank of the Volga River. On 19 November 1942, the Red Army launched Operation Uranus, the Axis forces on the flanks were overrun and the 6th Army was cut off and surrounded in the Stalingrad area. Adolf Hitler ordered that the stay in Stalingrad and make no attempt to break out, instead, attempts were made to supply the army by air. Heavy fighting continued for two months. By the beginning of February 1943, the Axis forces in Stalingrad had exhausted their ammunition, the remaining units of the 6th Army surrendered. The battle lasted five months, one week, and three days, elsewhere, the war had been progressing well, the U-boat offensive in the Atlantic had been very successful and Rommel had just captured Tobruk. In the east, they had stabilized their front in a running from Leningrad in the north to Rostov in the south. There were a number of salients, but these were not particularly threatening, neither Army Group North nor Army Group South had been particularly hard pressed over the winter. Stalin was expecting the main thrust of the German summer attacks to be directed against Moscow again, with the initial operations being very successful, the Germans decided that their summer campaign in 1942 would be directed at the southern parts of the Soviet Union. The initial objectives in the region around Stalingrad were the destruction of the capacity of the city. The river was a key route from the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea to central Russia and its capture would disrupt commercial river traffic. The Germans cut the pipeline from the oilfields when they captured Rostov on 23 July, the capture of Stalingrad would make the delivery of Lend Lease supplies via the Persian Corridor much more difficult. On 23 July 1942, Hitler personally rewrote the operational objectives for the 1942 campaign, both sides began to attach propaganda value to the city based on it bearing the name of the leader of the Soviet Union. The expansion of objectives was a significant factor in Germanys failure at Stalingrad, caused by German overconfidence, the Soviets realized that they were under tremendous constraints of time and resources and ordered that anyone strong enough to hold a rifle be sent to fight. If I do not get the oil of Maikop and Grozny then I must finish this war, Army Group South was selected for a sprint forward through the southern Russian steppes into the Caucasus to capture the vital Soviet oil fields there

5.
Maneuver warfare
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Maneuver warfare, or manoeuvre warfare, is a military strategy that advocates attempting to defeat the enemy by incapacitating their decision-making through shock and disruption. Methods of war stand on a continuum between maneuver warfare and attrition warfare, the focus on achieving victory through killing or capturing the enemy, Maneuver warfare advocates recognize that all warfare involves both maneuver and attrition. Maneuver warfare concepts have historically been stressed by militaries that are smaller, more cohesive, the idea of using rapid movement to keep an enemy off balance is as old as war itself. However, changing technology, such as the development of cavalry and mechanized vehicles, has led to increased interest in the concepts of maneuver warfare, Military orthodoxy believes that with some exceptions, most battles between established armies have historically been fought based on an attrition warfare strategy. Closer examination, however, reveals that the view is not universally held, attrition warfare tends to use rigidly centralized command structures that require little or no creativity or initiative from lower-level leadership. Maneuver warfare doctrine sees styles of warfare as a spectrum with attrition warfare, in attrition warfare, the enemy is seen as a collection of targets to be found and destroyed. Attrition warfare exploits maneuver to bring to bear firepower to destroy enemy forces, Maneuver warfare, on the other hand, exploits firepower and attrition on key elements of opposing forces. Instead, in warfare, the destruction of certain enemy targets is combined with isolation of enemy forces. Bypassing and cutting off enemy strongpoints often results in the collapse of that strongpoint even where the damage is minimal. Firepower, which is used primarily to destroy as many forces as possible in attrition warfare, is used to suppress or destroy enemy positions at breakthrough points during maneuver warfare. Infiltration tactics by conventional or special forces may be used extensively to cause chaos, Leonhard summarizes maneuver warfare theory as preempt, dislocate, and disrupt the enemy as alternatives to destruction of enemy mass through attrition warfare. Clarification of the Clausewitzian center of gravity concept in maneuver warfare terms suggests the question, is a COG the source of strength or the critical vulnerability. The issue can be resolved using the game of chess as a model, is the Queen or the King the opposing players COG, once the opposing players King is knocked off, it does not matter how many other chess pieces are taken. Since tempo and initiative are so critical to the success of maneuver warfare, command structures tend to be more decentralized, with more tactical freedom given to lower-level unit leaders. The decentralized command structure allows on the unit leaders, while still working within the guidelines of commanders overall vision. War theorist Martin van Creveld identifies six main elements of warfare, Tempo. Schwerpunkt, the center of effort, or striking the enemy at the place at the right time. According to van Creveld, ideally, a spot that is vital and weakly defended

6.
Flanking maneuver
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In military tactics, a flanking maneuver, or flanking manoeuvre is a movement of an armed force around a flank to achieve an advantageous position over an enemy. Flanking is useful because a forces offensive power is concentrated in its front, therefore, to circumvent a forces front and attack a flank is to concentrate offense in the area when the enemy is least able to concentrate offense. Flanking can also occur at the operational and strategic levels of warfare, the flanking maneuver is a basic military tactic, with several variations. Flanking an enemy often refers to staying back and not risking yourself, of course, it may not always work, but for the most part can prove to be effective. One type is employed in an ambush, where a unit performs a surprise attack from a concealed position. Other units may be hidden to the sides of the site to surround the enemy. Another type is used in the attack, where a unit encounters an enemy defensive position, upon receiving fire from the enemy, the unit commander may decide to order a flank attack. A part of the attacking unit fixes the enemy with fire, preventing them from returning fire. The flanking force then advances to the flank and attacks them at close range. Coordination to avoid friendly fire is important in this situation. The most effective form of flanking maneuver is the double envelopment, a classic example is Hannibals victory over the Roman armies at the Battle of Cannae. Another example of the double envelopment is Khalid ibn al-Walids victory over the Persian Empire at the Battle of Walaja, despite primarily being associated with land warfare, flanking maneuvers have also been used effectively in naval battles. A famous example of this is the Battle of Salamis, where the naval forces of the Greek city-states managed to outflank the Persian navy. Armored vehicles such as tanks replaced cavalry as the force of flanking maneuvers in the 20th century. The threat of flanking has been existent since the dawn of warfare, in addition, proper adjustment and positioning of soldiers is imperative in assuring the protection against flanking. Although not strictly impassable, woods, forests, rivers, broken and marshy ground could also be used to anchor a flank, however, in such instances it was still wise to have skirmishers covering these flanks. In exceptional circumstances, an army may be enough to be able to anchor a flank with a friendly castle. When the terrain favoured neither side it was down to the disposition of forces in the line to prevent flanking attacks

7.
Encirclement
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Encirclement is a military term for the situation when a force or target is isolated and surrounded by enemy forces. Lastly, since the force cannot retreat, unless it is relieved or can break out and it is better to have them consider the possibility of a retreat. Once the enemy retreats, they can be pursued and captured or destroyed with far less risk to the pursuing forces than a fight to the death, examples of this might be the battles of Dunkirk, in 1940, and the Falaise Gap in 1944. The encirclement of the German Sixth Army in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942 is a typical example. If there is an obstacle, such as ocean or mountains on one side of the battlefield, only one pincer is needed. The German attack into the lowlands of France in 1940 is an example of this. A third and rare type of encirclement can ensue from a breakthrough in an area of the enemy front, full encirclement rarely follows, but the threat of it severely hampers the defenders options. This type of pattern is centerpiece to Blitzkrieg operations. Because of the difficulty of this operation, it cannot be executed unless the offensive force has a vast superiority, either in technology, organization. The Barbarossa campaign of 1941 saw some examples, a special kind of encirclement is the siege. In this case, the forces are enveloped in a fortified position in which long-lasting supplies and strong defences are in place. Sieges have taken place in almost all eras of warfare

8.
Breakout (military)
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A breakout is a military operation to end a situation of investment, through offensive operations that achieve a breakthrough. It is used in such as, The British breakout attempt from Normandy. It is one of four possible outcomes of investment, the others being relief, surrender, to be categorized a breakout, an invested force is not necessarily required to be completely encircled by an enemy force. Rather, they may have their movement partially restricted by a feature or potentially the use of an area denial weapon such as the VX nerve agent. This was the case in 1944 in the Saint Lo Breakout, while this may be true of a beachhead, it is not necessarily true of a bridgehead. Similarly, open water may not be a barrier in the same right, had they evacuated to sea, they would retain a significant military presence, as they were principally a naval military force. Conversely, consider the evacuation of British troops at Dunkirk during the Second World War. This force clearly was pressed by the enemy, and when it broke out they lost their strength as a fighting force. They were, at the base of it, a land force escaping, the key feature here is the loss of freedom of maneuver. If a force can overcome a terrain feature, while maintaining its fighting strength, then it is not breaking out. A breakout attempt need not result in a breakthrough, such as the 4th Panzer Army suffered during Operation Winter Storm or the British 1st Armored Division suffered at Campoleone and this is referred to as a failed breakout. A breakout may be attempted in conjunction with relief, and this may be essential if the invested force has already experienced failed breakout attempts. Indeed, as the Dunkirk evacuation illustrated, despite having by far the largest navy in the world, similarly, as seen at the Battle of Sarikamish, mountaneous terrain remained a significant obstical to military movement and could inflict numerous casualties. Breakout maneuvers, despite their own risks, may become necessary by a number of disadvantages encircled forces suffer. They are vulnerable to concentrated artillery fire and they are vulnerable to use of weapons of mass destruction. They will, at point, exhaust their supplies if resupply is not possible by air. They cannot evacuate the dead and wounded and they are vulnerable to loss of morale and discipline. The invested force suffers from the disadvantages resulting from occupying a confined space, therefore, the encircling force has a significant tactical advantage and also have the advantage of time

9.
Sun Tzu
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Sun Tzu was a Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher who lived in the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, aside from his legacy as the author of The Art of War, Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and the Culture of Asia as a legendary historical figure. His birth name was Sun Wu, and he was known outside of his family by his courtesy name Changqing, the name Sun Tzu by which he is best known in the West is an honorific which means Master Sun. Sima Qian and other traditional historians placed him as a minister to King Helü of Wu, modern scholars accepting his historicity nonetheless place the existing text of The Art of War in the later Warring States period based upon its style of composition and its descriptions of warfare. Traditional accounts state that the generals descendant Sun Bin also wrote a treatise on military tactics, since both Sun Wu and Sun Bin were referred to as Sun Tzu in classical Chinese texts, some historians believed them identical prior to the rediscovery of Sun Bins treatise in 1972. Sun Tzus work has been praised and employed throughout East Asia since its composition, during the twentieth century, The Art of War grew in popularity and saw practical use in Western society as well. It continues to influence many competitive endeavors in Asia, Europe, and America including culture, politics, business, the oldest available sources disagree as to where Sun Tzu was born. The Spring and Autumn Annals states that Sun Tzu was born in Qi and it is also worth noting that Sun Tzes surname Sun originated only in the Central Plains and no where else. Sun Tzus victories then inspired him to write The Art of War, Sun Tzu divided them into two companies, appointing the two concubines most favored by the king as the company commanders. When Sun Tzu first ordered the concubines to face right, they giggled, in response, Sun Tzu said that the general, in this case himself, was responsible for ensuring that soldiers understood the commands given to them. Then, he reiterated the command, and again the concubines giggled, Sun Tzu then ordered the execution of the kings two favored concubines, to the kings protests. He explained that if the generals soldiers understood their commands but did not obey, Sun Tzu also said that, once a general was appointed, it was his duty to carry out his mission, even if the king protested. After both concubines were killed, new officers were chosen to replace them, afterwards, both companies, now well aware of the costs of further frivolity, performed their maneuvers flawlessly. Skeptics cite possible historical inaccuracies and anachronisms in the text, the name Sun Wu does appear in later sources such as the Records of the Grand Historian and the Wu Yue chunqiu. The only historical battle attributed to Sun Tzu, the Battle of Boju, has no record of him fighting in that battle, the appearance of features from The Art of War in other historical texts is considered to be proof of his historicity and authorship. Certain strategic concepts, such as classification, are attributed to Sun Tzu. Their use in other such as The Methods of the Sima is considered proof of Sun Tzus historical priority. According to Ralph Sawyer, it is very likely Sun Tzu did exist and not only served as a general but also wrote the core of the book that bears his name

10.
The Art of War
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The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the 5th century BC. Attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu the text is composed of 13 chapters and it is commonly thought of as a definitive work on military strategy and tactics. It was placed at the head of Chinas Seven Military Classics upon the creation in 1080 by Emperor Shenzong of Song. It has had an influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy, the book was first translated into French in 1772 by the Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot and a partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905. The first annotated English translation was completed and published by Lionel Giles in 1910, leaders such as Mao Zedong, General Võ Nguyên Giáp, General Douglas MacArthur and leaders of Imperial Japan have drawn inspiration from the work. This text was identified with the received Master Suns Art of War. The prominent strategist, poet, and warlord Cao Cao in the early 3rd century AD authored the earliest known commentary to the Art of War, caos preface makes clear that he edited the text and removed certain passages, but the extent of his changes were unclear historically. The Art of War appears throughout the bibliographical catalogs of the Chinese dynastic histories, in 1972, the Yinqueshan Han slips were discovered in two Han dynasty tombs near the city of Linyi in Shandong Province. The Sun Bin texts material overlaps with much of the Sunzi text, and this discovery showed that much of the historical confusion was due to the fact that there were two texts that could have been referred to as Master Suns Art of War, not one. The content of the text is about one-third of the chapters of the modern The Art of War. It is now accepted that the earlier The Art of War was completed sometime between 500 and 450 BC. The Art of War is divided into 13 chapters, the collection is referred to as being one zhuàn, detail Assessment and Planning explores the five fundamental factors and seven elements that determine the outcomes of military engagements. By thinking, assessing and comparing these points, a commander can calculate his chances of victory, habitual deviation from these calculations will ensure failure via improper action. The text stresses that war is a grave matter for the state. Waging War explains how to understand the economy of warfare and how success requires winning decisive engagements quickly and this section advises that successful military campaigns require limiting the cost of competition and conflict. Strategic Attack defines the source of strength as unity, not size, in order of importance, these critical factors are, Attack, Strategy, Alliances, Army and Cities. Disposition of the Army explains the importance of defending existing positions until a commander is capable of advancing from those positions in safety and it teaches commanders the importance of recognizing strategic opportunities, and teaches not to create opportunities for the enemy. Forces explains the use of creativity and timing in building an armys momentum, Military Maneuvers explains the dangers of direct conflict and how to win those confrontations when they are forced upon the commander

11.
Battle of Marathon
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The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis, the battle was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. The Greek army decisively defeated the more numerous Persians, marking a point in the Greco-Persian Wars. The Athenians and Eretrians had succeeded in capturing and burning Sardis, in response to this raid, Darius swore to burn down Athens and Eretria. Also he charged one of his servants, to say Master, remember the Athenians, three times before dinner each day. At the time of the battle, Sparta and Athens were the two largest city states, once the Ionian revolt was finally crushed by the Persian victory at the Battle of Lade in 494 BC, Darius began plans to subjugate Greece. In 490 BC, he sent a task force under Datis and Artaphernes across the Aegean, to subjugate the Cyclades. Reaching Euboea in mid-summer after a campaign in the Aegean. The Persian force then sailed for Attica, landing in the bay near the town of Marathon, the Athenians, joined by a small force from Plataea, marched to Marathon, and succeeded in blocking the two exits from the plain of Marathon. The Athenians also sent a message asking for support to the Spartans, when the messenger arrived in Sparta, the Spartans were involved in a religious festival and gave this as a reason for not coming to aid of the Athenians. The Athenians and their allies chose a location for the battle, with marshes and mountainous terrain, Miltiades, the Athenian general, ordered a general attack against the Persians. He reinforced his flanks, luring the Persians best fighters into his center, the inward wheeling flanks enveloped the Persians, routing them. The Persian army broke in panic towards their ships, and large numbers were slaughtered, the defeat at Marathon marked the end of the first Persian invasion of Greece, and the Persian force retreated to Asia. Darius then began raising a new army with which he meant to completely subjugate Greece, however, in 486 BC, his Egyptian subjects revolted. After Darius died, his son Xerxes I restarted the preparations for an invasion of Greece. The Battle of Marathon was a watershed in the Greco-Persian wars, showing the Greeks that the Persians could be beaten, the battle also showed the Greeks that they were able to win battles without the Spartans, as they had heavily relied on Sparta previously. This win was due to the Athenians, and Marathon raised Greek esteem of them. The main source for the Greco-Persian Wars is the Greek historian Herodotus, Herodotus, who has been called the Father of History, was born in 484 BC in Halicarnassus, Asia Minor

12.
Herodotus
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Herodotus was a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire and lived in the fifth century BC, a contemporary of Socrates. The Histories is the work which he is known to have produced. Despite Herodotus historical significance, little is known of his personal life and his place in history and his significance may be understood according to the traditions within which he worked. His work is the earliest Greek prose to have survived intact, of these only fragments of Hecataeuss work survive yet they allow us glimpses into the kind of tradition within which Herodotus wrote his own Histories. In his introduction to Hecataeus’s work, Genealogies, This points forward to the ‘folksy’ yet ‘international’ outlook typical of Herodotus. Yet, one scholar has described the work of Hecataeus as “a curious false start to history” since despite his critical spirit. It is possible that Herodotus borrowed much material from Hecataeus, as stated by Porphyry in a recorded by Eusebius. But Hecataeus did not record events that had occurred in living memory, unlike Herodotus, Herodotus claims to be better informed than his predecessors by relying on empirical observation to correct their excessive schematism. For example, He argues for continental asymmetry as opposed to the theory of a perfectly circular earth with Europe. Yet, he retains idealizing tendencies, as in his notions of the Danube. His debt to previous authors of prose ‘histories’ might be questionable, however, this point is one of the most contentious issues in modern scholarship. It is on account of the strange stories and the folk-tales he reported that his critics in early modern times branded him “The Father of Lies”. Even his own contemporaries found reason to scoff at his achievement, similarly, the Athenian historian Thucydides dismissed Herodotus as a “logos-writer”. Moreover, Thucydides developed a historical topic more in keeping with the Greek world-view, the interplay of civilizations was more relevant to Greeks living in Anatolia, such as Herodotus himself, for whom life within a foreign civilization was a recent memory. Modern scholars generally turn to Herodotus’s own writing for reliable information about his life, supplemented with ancient yet much later sources, modern accounts of his life typically go something like this, Herodotus was born at Halicarnassus around 484 BC. His name is not mentioned later in the tribute list of the Athenian Delian League, the epic poet Panyassis – a relative of Herodotus – is reported to have taken part in a failed uprising. Herodotus expresses affection for the island of Samos, and this is an indication that he might have lived there in his youth. So it is possible that his family was involved in an uprising against Lygdamis, leading to a period of exile on Samos, Herodotus wrote his Histories in the Ionian dialect, yet he was born in Halicarnassus, which was a Dorian settlement

13.
Miltiades the Younger
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Miltiades, also known as Miltiades the Younger, was the son of Cimon Coalemos, a renowned Olympic chariot-racer. He was an Athenian citizen and is mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon. Miltiades was a well-born Athenian, and considered himself a member of the Aeacidae and he came of age during the tyranny of the Peisistratids. His family was prominent, due in part to their success with Olympic chariot-racing. Miltiades was named after his fathers maternal half-brother, Miltiades the Elder, around 555 BC, Miltiades the Elder left Athens to establish a colony on the Thracian Chersonese, setting himself up as a semi-autonomous tyrant under the protection of Athens. Miltiades the Elder was childless, so when he died around 520 BC, his nephew, Miltiades the Youngers brother, Stesagoras, inherited the tyranny of the Chersonese. Four years later, Stesagoras met his death by an axe to the head, Stesagoras reign had been tumultuous, full of war and revolt. Wishing to achieve control over his lands than his brother had. When the men of rank from the Chersonese came to console him and he then ensured his power by employing 500 troops. He also made an alliance with King Olorus of Thrace by marrying his daughter, in about 513 BC, Darius I, the king of Persia, led a large army into the area, forcing the Thracian Chersonese into submission and making Miltiades a vassal of Persian rule. Miltiades tried to convince the officers to destroy the bridge and leave Darius and his forces to die, but the others were too afraid. When the king got wind of this scheme, Miltiades rule became a perilous affair, however, the revolt collapsed in 494 BC and in 492 BC Miltiades and his family fled to Athens in five ships to escape a retaliatory Persian invasion. The Athens to which Miltiades returned was no longer a tyranny, it had overthrown the Peisistratids, thus, Miltiades initially faced a hostile reception for his tyrannical rule in the Thracian Chersonese. His trial was further complicated by the politics of his aristocratic rivals, Miltiades is often credited with devising the tactics that defeated the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. Miltiades was elected to serve as one of the ten generals for 490 BC, in addition to the ten generals, there was one war-ruler, Callimachus, who had been left with a decision of great importance. The ten generals were split, five to five, on whether to attack the Persians at Marathon then, or later. He is quoted as saying I believe that, provided the Gods will give fair play and no favour, Miltiades feared the cavalry of the Persians attacking the flanks, and asked for the flanks to have more hoplites than the centre. Miltiades also had his men march to the end of the Persian archer range, called the beaten zone and this was very successful in defeating the Persians, who then tried to sail around the Cape Sounion and attack Attica from the west

14.
Plataea
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For the geometer moth genus, see Plataea. Plataea or Plataeae was an ancient city, located in Greece in southeastern Boeotia and it was the location of the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC, in which an alliance of Greek city-states defeated the Persians. Plataea was destroyed in the Peloponnesian War by Thebes and Sparta in 427 BC, the modern Greek town of Plataies is built near its ruins. Herodotus tells that, in order to avoid coming under Theban hegemony, however, the Spartans refused this offer and, wishing to cause mischief between the Boeotians and Athens, recommended that the Plataeans ally themselves with Athens instead. This advice was accepted and a delegation sent to Athens, where the Athenians were agreeable to such a proposal, on learning that Athens had accepted the alliance, the Thebans sent an army against Plataea, but were met by an Athenian one. Corinth attempted to mediate the dispute, and achieved an agreement that set the border between Thebes and Plataea, in addition, Thebes made a commitment not to interfere with cities that did not want to be a part of a Boeotian state. However, after the Corinthians had left and Athenians were starting their journey home, in the subsequent battle, the Athenians prevailed and set the river Asopus as the border between Thebes and Plataea. With Athens as their ally, the Plataeans were able to avoid subjugation by their neighbours, in honour of this debt, at the Battle of Marathon, Plataea alone would fight at the Athenians side. Sentinels spied dust clouds in the north and initially feared that another Persian army, instead it was the Plataeans coming panstratiá, i. e. having sent every available fighting man in Athens hour of greatest need. They were led by their general, Arimnestos, in acknowledgement and gratitude of their allys fidelity, the Athenians gave the Plataeans the honour of the left flank during the battle. After the battle, the Plataeans were allowed to share Athenian memorials, in 479 BC Plataea was the site of the final battle that repelled the second Persian invasion of Greece. According to Herodotus, the Spartan general Pausanias led an allied Greek defense against Mardonius Persian forces, although they were vastly outnumbered, the Greeks were able to kill Mardonius, his death precipitated the Persian rout that followed. Accounts vary, but there is agreement that the battle resulted in a significant number of Persian dead. This battle would mark the last time a Persian army invaded mainland Greece, the Greek victory at Plataea is commemorated by the so-called Serpent Column erected at Delphi. Instead the Theban commanders harmed no one but attempted to persuade all of the citizens of Plataea to join with Thebes allies, the enraged citizenry then attacked them. In one of the instances in which both women and slaves took part in what amounted to warfare, the citizenry killed over half the 300 Thebans. Thucydides reports that a number of the remaining Thebans escaped with the help of a Plataean woman who provided them with an axe to break one of the towns gates. Some of the tried to escape by jumping off the city wall

15.
Hoplite
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Hoplites were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers utilized the phalanx formation in order to be effective in war with fewer soldiers, the hoplites were primarily represented by free citizens—propertied farmers and artisans—who were able to afford the bronze armour suit and weapons. Hoplites were not professional soldiers and often lacked sufficient military training, although some states did maintain a small elite professional unit, hoplite soldiers were relied on heavily and made up the bulk of ancient Greek armies of the time. In the 8th or 7th century BC, Greek armies adopted a military innovation known as the phalanx formation, the formation proved successful in defeating the Persians when employed by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC during the First Greco-Persian War. The phalanx was also employed by the Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The word hoplite derives from hoplon, the name for the type of shield used by the soldiers, however, the shield was more commonly known as an aspis, so the word hopla may refer to the soldiers weapons or even their full armament. In the modern Hellenic Army, the word hoplite is used to refer to an infantryman, the fragmented political structure of Ancient Greece, with many competing city-states, increased the frequency of conflict, but at the same time limited the scale of warfare. Limited manpower did not allow most Greek city-states to form armies which could operate for long periods because they were generally not formed from professional soldiers. Most soldiers had careers as farmers or workers and returned to these professions after the campaign, all hoplites were expected to take part in any military campaign when called for duty by leaders of the state. This inevitably reduced the duration of campaigns and often resulted in the campaign season being restricted to one summer. Armies generally marched directly to their destination, and in cases the battlefield was agreed to by the contestants in advance. Battles were fought on ground, and hoplites preferred to fight with high terrain on both sides of the phalanx so the formation could not be flanked. An example of this was the Battle of Thermopylae, where the Spartans specifically chose a narrow pass to make their stand against the massive Persian army. The vastly outnumbered Greeks held off the Persians for seven days, when battles occurred, they were usually set piece and intended to be decisive. The battlefield would be flat and open to facilitate phalanx warfare and these battles were usually short and required a high degree of discipline. At least in the classical period, when cavalry was present, its role was restricted to protection of the flanks of the phalanx, pursuit of a defeated enemy. Light infantry and missile troops took part in the battles but their role was less important, before the the opposing phalanxes engaged, the light troops would skirmish with the enemies light forces, and then protect the flanks and rear of the phalanx. The military structure created by the Spartans was a phalanx formation

16.
First Persian invasion of Greece
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The first Persian invasion of Greece, during the Persian Wars, began in 492 BC, and ended with the decisive Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. The invasion, consisting of two campaigns, was ordered by the Persian king Darius I primarily in order to punish the city-states of Athens. These cities had supported the cities of Ionia during their revolt against Persian rule, Darius also saw the opportunity to extend his empire into Europe, and to secure its western frontier. However, further progress was prevented when Mardoniuss fleet was wrecked in a storm off the coast of Mount Athos, the following year, having demonstrated his intentions, Darius sent ambassadors to all parts of Greece, demanding their submission. He received it from almost all of them, except Athens and Sparta, with Athens still defiant, and Sparta now effectively at war with him, Darius ordered a further military campaign for the following year. The second Persian campaign, in 490 BC, was under the command of Datis, the expedition headed first to the island Naxos, which it captured and burnt. It then island-hopped between the rest of the Cycladic Islands, annexing each into the Persian empire, reaching Greece, the expedition landed at Eretria, which it besieged, and after a brief time, captured. Eretria was razed and its citizens enslaved, finally, the task force headed to Attica, landing at Marathon, en route for Athens. There, it was met by a smaller Athenian army, which proceeded to win a remarkable victory at the Battle of Marathon. This defeat prevented the conclusion of the campaign, and the task force returned to Asia. Nevertheless, the expedition had fulfilled most of its aims, punishing Naxos and Eretria, the unfinished business from this campaign led Darius to prepare for a much larger invasion of Greece, to firmly subjugate it, and to punish Athens and Sparta. However, internal strife within the empire delayed this expedition, and it was thus left to his son Xerxes I to lead the second Persian invasion of Greece, beginning in 480 BC. The main source for the Greco-Persian Wars is the Greek historian Herodotus, Herodotus, who has been called the Father of History, was born in 484 BC in Halicarnassus, Asia Minor. He wrote his Enquiries around 440–430 BC, trying to trace the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars, Herodotuss approach was entirely novel, and at least in Western society, he does seem to have invented history as we know it. Some subsequent ancient historians, despite following in his footsteps, criticised Herodotus, nevertheless, Thucydides chose to begin his history where Herodotus left off, and therefore evidently felt that Herodotuss history was accurate enough not to need re-writing or correcting. A negative view of Herodotus was passed on to Renaissance Europe, however, since the 19th century his reputation has been dramatically rehabilitated by archaeological finds which have repeatedly confirmed his version of events. The prevailing modern view is that Herodotus generally did a job in his Historia. Nevertheless, there are some historians who believe Herodotus made up much of his story

17.
Alexander the Great
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Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of twenty and he was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of historys most successful military commanders. During his youth, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16, after Philips assassination in 336 BC, he succeeded his father to the throne and inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. Alexander was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his fathers Panhellenic project to lead the Greeks in the conquest of Persia, in 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid Empire and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Following the conquest of Anatolia, Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of battles, most notably the battles of Issus. He subsequently overthrew Persian King Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety, at that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. He sought to reach the ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea and invaded India in 326 BC and he eventually turned back at the demand of his homesick troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, the city that he planned to establish as his capital, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in the establishment of several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexanders surviving generals, Alexanders legacy includes the cultural diffusion which his conquests engendered, such as Greco-Buddhism. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt, Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and mythic traditions of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and he is often ranked among the most influential people in human history. He was the son of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and his wife, Olympias. Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his wife for some time. Several legends surround Alexanders birth and childhood, sometime after the wedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wifes womb with a seal engraved with a lions image. Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations of dreams, that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb. On the day Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice. That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies, and it was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his own instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception

18.
Battle of the Hydaspes
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The battle resulted in a complete Greek victory and the annexation of the Punjab, which lay beyond the far easternmost confines of the already absorbed Persian empire, into the Macedonian Empire. Alexanders decision to cross the river despite close Indian surveillance. Although victorious, it was also the most costly battle fought by the Macedonians, the resistance put up by King Porus and his men won the respect of Alexander, who asked Porus to become a Macedonian satrap. The battle is significant for opening up India to Greek political and cultural influences. The battle took place on the east bank of the Hydaspes River in what is now the Western Punjab, Alexander later founded the city of Nicaea on the site, this city has yet to be discovered. Any attempt to find the ancient battle site is complicated by changes to the landscape over time. For the moment, the most plausible location is just south of the city of Jhelum, where the ancient main road crossed the river, the identification of the battle site near modern Jalalpur/Haranpur is certainly erroneous, as the river meandered far from these cities. After Alexander defeated the last of the Achaemenid Empires forces under Bessus and Spitamenes in 328 BC, whilst possessing a much larger army, at the battle, an estimated 40,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry crossed the river in time to engage the enemy. Depending on the source, Alexander was outnumbered somewhere between 3,1 and 5,1, in early spring of the next year, he combined his forces and allied with Taxiles, the King of Taxila, against Taxiles neighbor, the King of Hydaspes. Alexander had to subdue King Porus in order to keep marching east, to leave such a strong opponent at his flanks would endanger any further exploit. He could also not afford to show any weakness if he wanted to keep the loyalty of the already subdued Indian princes, Porus had to defend his kingdom and chose the perfect spot to check Alexanders advance. Although he lost the battle, he became the most successful recorded opponent of Alexander, Alexander fixed his camp in the vicinity of the town of Jhelum on the right banks of the river. Porus drew up on the bank of the Jhelum River to repel any crossing in the spring of 326 BC. The Jhelum River was deep and fast enough that any opposition to a crossing would probably doom the attacking force, Alexander knew that a direct approach had little chance of success and tried to find alternative fords. He moved his troops up and down the river bank each night while Porus shadowed him. Eventually, Alexander used a crossing, about 27 km upstream of his camp. While leading his troops across, he landed on another island and his plan was a classic pincer maneuver. He would eventually attack Indian cavalry flanking each side of Porus main force from the right, Craterus was ordered to either ford the river and attack if Porus faced Alexander with all his troops or to hold his position if Porus faced Alexander with only part of his army

19.
Porus
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Porus or Poros, was a king of the Pauravas whose territory in Ancient Punjab spanned the region between the Hydaspes and Acesines rivers in what is now the Punjab. Porus fought against Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes, thought to be fought at the site of modern-day Mong, after Alexanders death in 323 BC, Porus was assassinated by one of Alexanders generals named Eudemus sometime between 321 and 315 BC. Porus or Poros, was a king of the Pauravas whose territory spanned the region between the Hydaspes and Acesines rivers in what is now Punjab, Porus fought with Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes. After Alexanders death in 323 BC, Porus was assassinated by one of Alexanders generals named Eudemus sometime between 321 and 315 BC, the only information available on Porus is from Greek sources. Historians however have reasoned that based on his name and the location of his domain, the historian, Ishwari Prasad, noted that Porus might have been a Yaduvanshi Shoorsaini. This Herakles of Megasthenes and Arrian has been identified by scholars as Krishna and by others as his elder brother Baladeva. The Battle of the Hydaspes was fought in 326 BC by Alexander the Great against King Porus of the Paurava kingdom on the banks of the river Hydaspes, the battle resulted in a Macedonian victory. After Alexanders death in 323 BC, Porus was assassinated by one of Alexanders generals, Eudemus, History of Porus, Patiala, Dr. Buddha Parkash. Alexander de Grote - De ondergang van het Perzische rijk, Amsterdam, ISBN 90-253-3144-0 Holt, Frank L. Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions, California, University of California Press,2003, 217pgs. ISBN 0-520-24483-4 History of India, Dr. Ishwari Prashad King Porus - A Legend of Old, glorifying poem, describes a legendary victory of Porus over Alexander. Media related to Porus at Wikimedia Commons Porus at Livius, by Jona Lendering Chisholm, Hugh, ed. King Porus

20.
Hannibal
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Hannibal Barca, was a Carthaginian general, considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. His father Hamilcar Barca was the leading Carthaginian commander during the First Punic War and his younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal, and he was brother-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair. One of his most famous achievements was at the outbreak of the Second Punic War, when he marched an army which included war elephants from Iberia over the Pyrenees, Hannibal occupied much of Italy for 15 years but was unable to march on Rome. An enemy counter-invasion of North Africa forced him to return to Carthage, after the war, Hannibal successfully ran for the office of sufet. During this time, he lived at the Seleucid court, where he acted as advisor to Antiochus III the Great in his war against Rome. Antiochus met defeat at the Battle of Magnesia and was forced to accept Romes terms and his flight ended in the court of Bithynia, where he achieved an outstanding naval victory against a fleet from Pergamon. He was afterwards betrayed to the Romans and committed suicide by poisoning himself, military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge called Hannibal the father of strategy, because his greatest enemy, Rome, came to adopt elements of his military tactics in its own strategic arsenal. This praise has earned him a reputation in the modern world. The English form of the name is derived from the Latin, Greek historians rendered the name as Anníbas Bárkas. Hannibals name was recorded in Carthaginian sources as ḤNBʻL and its precise vocalization remains a matter of debate. Suggested readings include Ḥannibaʻl or Ḥannibaʻal, meaning grace of Baʻal, Baal is gracious, or Baal has been gracious, or Ḥannobaʻal, Barca was the surname of his aristocratic family, meaning shining or lightning. It is thus equivalent to the Arabic name Barq or the Hebrew name Barak or the ancient Greek epithet keraunos, in English, his clan are sometimes collectively known as the Barcids. As with Greek and Roman practice, patronymics were a part of Carthaginian nomenclature. Hannibal was one of the sons of Hamilcar Barca, a Carthaginian leader and he was born in what is present day Tunisia. He had several sisters and two brothers, Hasdrubal and Mago and his brothers-in-law were Hasdrubal the Fair and the Numidian king Naravas. He was still a child when his sisters married, and his brothers-in-law were close associates during his fathers struggles in the Mercenary War, in light of Hamilcar Barcas cognomen, historians refer to Hamilcars family as the Barcids. However, there is debate as to whether the cognomen Barca was applied to Hamilcar alone or was hereditary within his family, if the latter, then Hannibal and his brothers also bore the name Barca. After Carthages defeat in the First Punic War, Hamilcar set out to improve his familys, with that in mind and supported by Gades, Hamilcar began the subjugation of the tribes of the Iberian Peninsula

21.
Polybius
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Polybius was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 264–146 BC in detail. The work describes the rise of the Roman Republic to the status of dominance in the ancient Mediterranean world, Polybius was born around 200 BC in Megalopolis, Arcadia, when it was an active member of the Achaean League. His father, Lycortas, was a prominent, land-owning politician, consequently, Polybius was able to observe first hand the political and military affairs of Megalopolis. He developed an interest in riding and hunting, diversions that later commended him to his Roman captors. In 182 BC, he was quite an honor when he was chosen to carry the funeral urn of Philopoemen. In either 169 BC or 170 BC, Polybius was elected hipparchus and his early political career was devoted largely towards maintaining the independence of Megalopolis. Polybius’ father, Lycortas, was a prominent advocate of neutrality during the Roman war against Perseus of Macedon. Lycortas attracted the suspicion of the Romans, and Polybius subsequently was one of the 1,000 Achaean nobles who were transported to Rome as hostages in 167 BC, Polybius remained on cordial terms with his former pupil Scipio Aemilianus and was among the members of the Scipionic Circle. Polybius remained a counselor to Scipio when he defeated the Carthaginians in the Third Punic War, following the destruction of Carthage, Polybius likely journeyed along the Atlantic coast of Africa, as well as Spain. After the destruction of Corinth in the year, Polybius returned to Greece. Polybius was charged with the task of organizing the new form of government in the Greek cities. He apparently interviewed veterans to clarify details of the events he was recording and was given access to archival material. Little is known of Polybius later life, he most likely accompanied Scipio to Spain and he later wrote about this war in a lost monograph. Polybius probably returned to Greece later in his life, as evidenced by the many existent inscriptions, polybius’ Histories cover the period from 264 BC to 146 BC. Its main focus is the period from 220 BC to 167 BC, describing Romes efforts in subduing its arch-enemy, Carthage, in Book VI, Polybius describes the political, military, and moral institutions that allowed the Romans to succeed. He describes the First and Second Punic Wars, in Book XII, Polybius discusses the worth of Timaeus’ account of the same period of history. He asserts Timaeus point of view is inaccurate, invalid, therefore, Polybiuss Histories is also useful in analyzing the different Hellenistic versions of history and of use as a credible illustration of actual events during the Hellenistic period. In the seventh volume of his Histories, Polybius defines the historians job as the analysis of documentation, the review of relevant geographical information, and political experience

22.
Khalid ibn al-Walid
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Abū Sulaymān Khālid ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah al-Makhzūmī, also known as Sayf Allāh al-Maslūl, was a companion of Muhammad. He is noted for his tactics and prowess, commanding the forces of Medina under Muhammad. It was under his leadership that Arabia, for the first time in history, was united under a single political entity. His strategic achievements include the conquest of Arabia during the Ridda Wars, Persian Mesopotamia and he is also remembered for his decisive victories at Yamamah, Ullais, and Firaz, and his tactical successes at Walaja and Yarmouk. Khalid ibn al-Walid was from the Meccan tribe of Quraysh, from a clan that initially opposed Muhammad and he played a vital role in the Meccan victory at the Battle of Uhud against the Muslims. Khalid ibn Al-Walid reported that the fighting was so intense, that while fighting and this earned him the title ‘Saif-ullah meaning The Sword Of Allah. Khalid took over after Zayd ibn Haritha, then Jafar ibn Abi Talib, after Muhammads death, he played a key role in commanding Medinan forces for Abu Bakr in the Ridda wars, conquering central Arabia and subduing Arab tribes. He captured the Sassanid Arab client Kingdom of Al-Hirah, and defeated the Sassanid Persian forces during his conquest of Iraq and he was later transferred to the western front to capture Roman Syria and the Byzantine Arab client state of the Ghassanids. Although Umar later relieved him of command, he nevertheless remained the effective leader of the forces arrayed against the Byzantines during the early stages of the Byzantine–Arab Wars. Under his command, Damascus was captured in 634 and the key Arab victory against the Byzantine forces was achieved at the Battle of Yarmouk, in 638, at the zenith of his career, he was dismissed from military services. Khalid is said to have fought around a hundred battles, both battles and minor skirmishes as well as single duels, during his military career. Having remained undefeated, he is claimed by some to be one of the finest military generals in history, Khalid was born c.592 in Mecca. His father was Walid ibn al-Mughirah, Sheikh of the Banu Makhzum, Walid was known in Mecca by the title of al-Waheed - the Loner. Khalids mother was Lubabah al-Sughra bint al-Harith, a sister of Maymunah bint al-Harith. At the age of five or six, he returned to his parents in Mecca, during his childhood Khalid suffered a mild attack of smallpox, which he survived, but it left some pockmarks on his left cheek. The three leading clans of Quraysh at that time were Banu Hashim, Banu Abd ad-Dar and Banu Makhzum, the latter clan being responsible for the matters of warfare. As a member of the Makhzum clan, who were amongst the best horsemen in Arabia, Khalid learned to ride and use weapons as the spear, the lance, the bow. The lance was said to be his favorite among the weapons, in youth he was admired as a renowned warrior and wrestler among the Quraysh

23.
Battle of Walaja
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In this battle the Sassanid army is said to have been at least three times the size of the Muslim army. Prophet Mohammad died on 8 June 632, Abu Bakr succeeded him as first Caliph, after the Ridda Wars a Muslim tribal chief raided the Persian frontier towns in Iraq. After the success of these raids, Abu Bakr planned to expand his empire and he started with Iraq, which was under Sassanid occupation at the time. It was important for Abu Bakr that his expedition did not suffer a defeat, for that would confirm, to overcome these concerns, he decided that the army that would battle the Persians would consist entirely of volunteers. He put in command of the army his best general, Khalid ibn al-Walid, the Muslims invaded the Sassanid Persian Empire in April 633, and defeated the Sassanid army in two consecutive battles, the Battle of Chains and the Battle of River. Khalids basic plan was to inflict as many casualties on the Persians as possible, also, to meet as little resistance as possible along the route of his advance, with the objective of capturing Al-Hira. After the Battle of River, the Rashidun Caliphate army under Khalid once again set out for Hira, the commanders of the defeated Persian armies were said to be some of the most experienced and most highly regarded figures at the Sassanid court. The Sassanian Emperor, Yazdegerd III ordered the concentration of two armies, Following the orders of Yazdegerd III, Sassanid forces began to gather at the imperial capital. They came from all towns and garrisons except those manning the western frontier with the Byzantine Empire, in a few days the first army was ready. Expecting the Muslim army to move west, Yazdegerd III picked Walaja as the place at which to stop Khalid ibn al-Walid, the first of the new Sassanid armies raised at Ctesiphon was placed under the command of Andarzaghar, governor of Khurasan province. Andarzaghar was ordered to move his army to Walaja, where he would soon be joined by the second army, on his way to Walaja, the Persian general picked up thousands of Arabs who were willing to fight under his standard. He had also taken command of the remnants of the army that had fought in the Battles of River, when he arrived at Walaja he waited for Bahman, who was to join him in a few days. Bahman was the commander of the army, and one of the top personalities of the Sassanid military hierarchy. He was ordered by the Emperor to take the army to Walaja. The plan was for Bahman to be the commander of both the armies, and annihilate the outnumbered Rashidun army in one great battle, Bahman moved on a separate route to that of Andarzaghars. From Ctesiphon, he marched south between the two rivers, heading directly for Walaja, but he left Ctesiphon several days after the first army started marching, causing delays, the Battle of River had been an important victory for the Muslims. While having only sustained minor casualties, the Muslims had been able to defeat a large Sassanid army, by now Khalid had organised an efficient network of intelligence agents. The agents were local Arabs who were hostile to the Persians, the agents informed Khalid about the concentration of new Sassanid armies in the area of Walaja and their much greater numbers

24.
Alp Arslan
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Alp Arslan, real name Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri, was the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. As Sultan, Alp Arslan greatly expanded Seljuk territory and consolidated power, defeating rivals to his south and his victory over the Byzantines at Manzikert ushered in the Turkish settlement of Anatolia. For his military prowess and fighting skills he obtained the name Alp Arslan, Alp Arslan accompanied his uncle, Tughril Bey on campaigns in the south against the Shia Fatimids while his father, Çağrı Bey remained in Khorasan. Upon Alp Arslans return to Khorasan, he began his work in administration at his fathers suggestion, while there, his father introduced him to Nizam al-Mulk, one of the most eminent statesmen in early Muslim history and Alp Arslans future vizier. After the death of his father, Alp Arslan succeeded him as governor of Khorasan in 1059 and his uncle Tughril died in 1063 and was succeeded by Suleiman, Arslans brother. Arslan and his uncle Kutalmish both contested this succession, Arslan defeated Kutalmish for the throne and succeeded on 27 April 1064 as sultan of Great Seljuq, thus becoming sole monarch of Persia from the river Oxus to the Tigris. In consolidating his empire and subduing contending factions, Arslan was ably assisted by Nizam al-Mulk, with peace and security established in his dominions, Arslan convoked an assembly of the states and in 1066, he declared his son Malik Shah I his heir and successor. With the hope of capturing Caesarea Mazaca, the capital of Cappadocia, he placed himself at the head of the Turkish cavalry, crossed the Euphrates, along with Nizam al-Mulk, he then marched into Armenia and Georgia, which he conquered in 1064. After a siege of 25 days, the Seljuks captured Ani, the city of Armenia. The Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes, assuming command in person, met the invaders in Cilicia, in three arduous campaigns, the Turks were defeated in detail and driven across the Euphrates in 1070. The first two campaigns were conducted by the emperor himself, while the third was directed by Manuel Comnenos, during this time, Arslan gained the allegiance of Rashid al-Dawla Mahmud, the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo. In 1071 Romanos again took the field and advanced into Armenia with possibly 30,000 men, including a contingent of Cuman Turks as well as contingents of Franks and Normans, under Ursel de Baieul. Alp Arslan, who had moved his troops south to fight the Fatimids, at Manzikert, on the Murat River, north of Lake Van, the two forces waged the Battle of Manzikert. The Cuman mercenaries among the Byzantine forces immediately defected to the Turkish side, seeing this, the Western mercenaries rode off and took no part in the battle. To be exact, Romanos was betrayed by general Andronikos Doukas, son of the Caesar, Emperor Romanos IV was himself taken prisoner and conducted into the presence of Alp Arslan. After a ritual humiliation, Arslan treated him with generosity, after peace terms were agreed to, Arslan dismissed the Emperor, loaded with presents and respectfully attended by a military guard. The following conversation is said to have taken place after Romanos was brought as a prisoner before the Sultan, Alp Arslan, Romanos, Perhaps Id kill you, or exhibit you in the streets of Constantinople. Alp Arslan, My punishment is far heavier, I forgive you, and set you free

25.
Battle of Manzikert
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The Battle of Manzikert was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks on August 26,1071 near Manzikert. Many of the Turks, who had been, during the 11th century, travelling westward, the brunt of the battle was borne by the professional soldiers from the eastern and western tagmata, as large numbers of mercenaries and Anatolian levies fled early and survived the battle. This led to the movement of Turks into central Anatolia—by 1080. It took three decades of internal strife before Alexius I restored stability to Byzantium and it was the first time in history a Byzantine Emperor had become the prisoner of a Muslim commander. Under Constantine IX the Byzantines first came into contact with the Seljuk Turks when they attempted to annex Ani, Constantine made a truce with the Seljuks that lasted until 1064, but they then took Ani, and in 1067 the rest of Armenia, followed by Caesarea. In 1068 Romanos IV took power, and after some speedy military reforms entrusted Manuel Comnenus to lead an expedition against the Seljuks. Manuel captured Hierapolis Bambyce in Syria, next thwarted a Turkish attack against Iconium with a counter-attack, in February 1071, Romanos sent envoys to Alp Arslan to renew the 1069 treaty, and keen to secure his northern flank against attack, Alp Arslan happily agreed. Abandoning the siege of Edessa, he led his army to attack Fatimid-held Aleppo. However, the treaty had been a deliberate distraction, Romanos now led a large army into Armenia to recover the lost fortresses before the Seljuks had time to respond. Accompanying Romanos was Andronicus Ducas, son of his rival, John Ducas, the expedition rested at Sebasteia on the river Halys, reaching Theodosiopolis in June 1071. There, some of his generals suggested continuing the march into Seljuk territory, others, including Nicephorus Bryennius, suggested they wait and fortify their position. It was decided to continue the march, Alp Arslan was already in the area, however, with allies and 30,000 cavalry from Aleppo and Mosul. Alp Arslans scouts knew exactly where Romanos was, while Romanos was completely unaware of his opponents movements and this split the forces in half, each taking about 20,000 men. Either way, Romanos army was reduced to less than half his planned 40,000 to 70,000 men, Alp Arslan summoned his army and delivered a speech by appearing in a white robe, as in an Islamic funeral shroud, in the morning of the battle. This was a message that he was ready to die in battle. Romanos was unaware of the loss of Tarchaneiotes and continued to Manzikert, which he captured on August 23. The next day some foraging parties under Bryennios discovered the Seljuk army and were forced to back to Manzikert. The Armenian general Basilakes was sent out some cavalry, as Romanos did not believe this was Alp Arslans full army

26.
Field Marshal
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Field marshal is a very senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually it is the highest rank in an army, and when it is and it is considered as a five-star rank in modern-day armed forces in many countries. The origin of the dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the kings horses. Promotion to the rank of marshal in many countries historically required extraordinary military achievement by a general. However, the rank has also used as a divisional command rank. The traditional attribute distinguishing a field marshal is a baton, the baton nowadays is purely ornamental, and as such may be richly decorated. That said, it is not necessary for the insignia to be a baton, the exact wording of the titles used by field marshals varies, examples include marshal and field marshal general. The air force equivalent in Commonwealth and many Middle Eastern air forces is marshal of the air force. Navies, which usually do not use the nomenclature employed by armies or air forces, use titles such as fleet admiral, Field marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim was a politician in Afghanistan who served as Vice President from June 2002 until December 2004 and from November 2009 until his death. Between September 2001 and December 2004, he served as Defense Minister under the Afghan Transitional Administration. As military commander of the Northern Alliance, Fahim captured the Afghan capital Kabul in the fall of 2001 from the Taliban government, in 2004 President Hamid Karzai provided Fahim the honorary title Marshal and a year later he became member of the House of Elders. He later became a recipient of the Ahmad Shah Baba Medal, Fahim was a member of Afghanistans Tajik ethnic group. He was affiliated with the Jamiat Islami party of Afghanistan, Sir Thomas Blamey was the first and is the only Australian-born field marshal. He was promoted to the rank on the insistence of the Australian prime minister, Sir Robert Menzies, Blamey was, at the time of his promotion, seriously ill and mostly bed-ridden in the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital. He was presented with his marshals baton at a ceremony held in the sunroom at the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital by the Governor-General of Australia. Blameys field marshals baton is on display in the Second World War galleries at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Currently, the only Australian field marshal is HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, during Imperial rule in China, different dynasty gave different titles to generals. A very similar title is 司馬 in Eastern Han dynasty, which means master of horse

27.
Battle of Fraustadt
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The Battle of Fraustadt was fought on 2 February 1706 /3 February 1706 /13 February 1706 between Sweden and Saxony-Poland and their Russian allies near Fraustadt in Poland. During the Battle of Fraustadt on February 3, August II was only 120 km away and that was one of the main reasons that Swedish General Rehnskiöld hurried to engage Schulenburg. The battle is an example of a pincer movement and was one of Swedens greatest victories in the Great Northern War. The Saxon army had not chosen its position carefully, Schulenburg had been maneuvered into a chosen by the Swedes. Rehnskiöld withdrew his forces from Schlawa to Fraustadt, the Saxons, superior in numbers regarding infantry, but with less cavalry than the Swedes, took a strong defensive position behind lines of chevaux de frise littered by artillery. On the left flank, the Swedish cavalry under Hummerhielm had some passing through a frozen swamp. After regrouping, the Swedes charged the Saxon Garde du Corps, after witnessing the destruction of the Saxon right flank, the left flank fled, and were routed by the Swedish dragoons. Colonel von Krassows cavalry then wheeled clock-wise into the Saxon-Russian rear and this was however an order from Schulenburg who questioned their battle skills to reveal the weakness of the flank. The Swedish infantry assaulted the Saxon-Russian line frontally, under heavy cannon, the Russian infantry were quickly surrounded and dispersed. The Saxon middle had its flank and rear exposed, and its regiments buckled, the Saxon right flank initially held, inflicting some damage to the Swedish infantry until the cavalry in the frozen swamp attacked their rear. The Saxon-Russian army fell apart and the main body fled to the south through Fraustadt, the Swedish cavalry, previously bogged down in the swamp, raced ahead on the open terrain, and met the fleeing Saxons and Russians on the far outskirts of the town. Trapped by Swedish cavalry to their front and infantry to their rear, in the end 7,377 Saxons and Russians had been killed and over 7,300 taken prisoner where of 2,000 of them were wounded. Sweden suffered some 400 killed, and 1,000 wounded, Schulenburg managed to escape, despite having suffered a bullet wound to his hip. 71 banners, the whole Saxon artillery,11,000 rapiers, hiding your own identity and claiming to be something else was frowned upon at the time, and sometimes considered reason enough to be denied quarter. Schulenburg also made two mistakes, first by being lured into terrain not to his advantage and then underestimating the mobility of the Swedish cavalry. It is known from Rehnskiölds personal journals that he had intended a double envelopment from the beginning, the Battle of Fraustadt is one of the most classic double envelopments in military history. It is probable that Rehnskiöld had studied the Battle of Cannae 216 BC although it is if he intended to copy it. The captured Russians were, according to historians, executed by an order from Rehnskiöld

28.
Daniel Morgan
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Daniel Morgan was an American pioneer, soldier, and United States Representative from Virginia. One of the most gifted battlefield tacticians of the American Revolutionary War, Morgan is believed to have been born in the village of New Hampton, New Jersey in Lebanon Township. All four of his grandparents were Welsh immigrants who lived in Pennsylvania, Morgan was the fifth of seven children of James Morgan and Eleanor Lloyd. When Morgan was 17, he left following a fight with his father. After working at odd jobs in Pennsylvania, he moved to the Shenandoah Valley and he finally settled on the Virginia frontier, near what is now Winchester, Virginia. He worked clearing land, in a sawmill, and as a teamster, in just a year, he saved enough to buy his own team. Morgan had served as a teamster during the French and Indian War. After returning from the advance on Fort Duquesne by General Braddocks command, Morgan thus acquired a hatred for the British Army. He then fell in love with Abigail Curry, they married and had two daughters, Nancy and Betsy, Morgan later served as a rifleman in the provincial forces assigned to protect the western settlements from French-backed Indian raids. Some time after the war, he purchased a farm between Winchester and Battletown, by 1774, he was so prosperous that he owned ten slaves. That year, he served in Dunmores War, taking part in raids on Shawnee villages in the Ohio Country. After the American Revolutionary War began at the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19,1775 and they called for the formation of 10 rifle companies from the middle colonies to support the Siege of Boston, and late in June 1775 Virginia agreed to send two. The Virginia House of Burgesses chose Daniel Morgan to form one of these companies and he had already been an officer in the Virginia militia since the French and Indian War. Morgan recruited 96 men in just 10 days and assembled them at Winchester on July 14 and he then marched them 600 miles to Boston, Massachusetts in 21 days, arriving on Aug.6,1775. His company of marksmen was nicknamed Morgans Riflemen, Morgans company had a significant advantage over the others. Instead of the weapons used of most British and most American companies. They were lighter and easier to fire, and they were more accurate. Morgans company used guerrilla tactics, first shooting the Indian guides who led the British forces through the rugged terrain, the British Army considered these guerrilla tactics to be dishonorable, however, they created chaos within the British ranks

29.
Battle of Cowpens
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The Battle of Cowpens was a engagement between Patriot forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and British forces under Sir Banastre Tarleton fought on January 17,1781. As part of the campaign in the Carolinas, a force of 1,100 British under Tarleton were sent against 2000 men under Morgan, the Patriot forces were able to perform a double envelopment of Tarletons force, at the cost of only 12 killed and 61 wounded. Tarleton was one of around 160 British troops to escape, the British had received incorrect reports that Morgans army was planning to attack the important strategic fort of Ninety Six, to the west of the Carolinas. Morgans army was deemed to represent a threat to the British left flank. Cornwallis dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to defeat Morgans command, upon learning Morgans army was not at Ninety Six, Tarleton, bolstered by British reinforcements, set off in hot pursuit of the American detachment. Morgan resolved to make a stand near the Broad River and he selected a position on two low hills in open woodland, with the expectation that the aggressive Tarleton would make a headlong assault without pausing to devise a more intricate plan. He deployed his army in three main lines, Tarletons army, after exhaustive marching, reached the field malnourished and heavily fatigued. Tarleton attacked immediately, however the American defence-in-depth absorbed the impact of the British attack, the British lines lost their cohesion as they hurried after the retreating Americans. Morgans army went on the offensive, and wholly overwhelmed Tarletons force, the battle was a turning point in the American reconquest of South Carolina from the British. On October 14,1780, George Washington chose Nathanael Greene to be commander of the Southern Department of the Continental forces, Greenes task was not an easy one. A victory of Patriot militia over their Loyalist counterparts at the Battle of Kings Mountain in October had bought time, when Greene took command, the southern army numbered only 2307 men, of whom just 949 were Continental regulars. On December 3, Brigadier General Daniel Morgan reported for duty to Greenes headquarters at Charlotte, at the start of the Revolution, Morgan, whose military experience dated to the French and Indian War, had served at the Siege of Boston. Later he participated in the 1775 invasion of Canada and its climactic battle and that battle, on December 31,1775, ended in defeat and Morgans capture by the British. Morgan was exchanged in January 1777 and placed by George Washington in command of a force of 500 trained riflemen. Morgan and his men played a key role in the victory at Saratoga, bitter after being passed over for promotion and plagued by severe attacks of sciatica, Morgan left the army in 1779. A year later he was promoted to Brigadier General and returned to service in the Southern Department, Greene decided that his weak army was unable to meet the British in a stand-up fight. Greene gave Morgan command of wing and instructed him to join with the militia west of the Catawba. Morgan headed west on December 21, charged with taking position between the Broad and Pacolet Rivers, and protecting the civilians in that area and he had 600 men, some 400 of which were Continentals, the rest being Virginia militia with experience as Continentals

30.
South Carolina
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South Carolina /ˌsaʊθ kærəˈlaɪnə/ is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state is bordered to the north by North Carolina, to the south and west by Georgia across the Savannah River, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U. S. Constitution, doing so on May 23,1788. South Carolina became the first state to vote to secede from the Union on December 20,1860, after the American Civil War, it was readmitted into the United States on June 25,1868. South Carolina is the 40th most extensive and the 23rd most populous U. S. state and its GDP as of 2013 was $183.6 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3. 13%. The capital and largest city is Columbia with a 2013 population of 133,358, South Carolina is named in honor of King Charles I of England, under whose reign the English colony was first formed, with Carolus being Latin for Charles. There is evidence of activity in the area about 12000 years ago. Along the Savannah River were the Apalachee, Yuchi, and the Yamasee, further west were the Cherokee, and along the Catawba River, the Catawba. These tribes were village-dwellers, relying on agriculture as their food source. The Cherokee lived in wattle and daub houses made with wood and clay, about a dozen separate small tribes summered on the coast harvesting oysters and fish, and cultivating corn, peas and beans. Travelling inland as much as 50 miles mostly by canoe, they wintered on the plain, hunting deer and gathering nuts. The names of these survive in place names like Edisto Island, Kiawah Island. The Spanish were the first Europeans in the area, in 1521, founding San Miguel de Gualdape, established with 500 settlers, it was abandoned within a year by 150 survivors. In 1562 French settlers established a settlement at what is now the Charlesfort-Santa Elena archaeological site on Parris Island, three years later the Spanish built a fort on the same site, but withdrew following hostilities with the English navy. In 1629, King Charles I of England established the Province of Carolina an area covering what is now South and North Carolina, Georgia, in the 1670s, English planters from the Barbados established themselves near what is now Charleston. Settlers built rice plantations in the South Carolina Lowcountry, east of the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, settlers came from all over Europe. Plantation labor was done by African slaves who formed the majority of the population by 1720, another cash crop was the Indigo plant, a plant source of blue dye, developed by Eliza Lucas. Meanwhile, in Upstate South Carolina, west of the Fall Line, was settled by farmers and traders. Colonists overthrew the rule, seeing more direct representation

31.
American War of Independence
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From about 1765 the American Revolution had led to increasing philosophical and political differences between Great Britain and its American colonies. The war represented a culmination of these differences in armed conflict between Patriots and the authority which they increasingly resisted. This resistance became particularly widespread in the New England Colonies, especially in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. On December 16,1773, Massachusetts members of the Patriot group Sons of Liberty destroyed a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor in an event that became known as the Boston Tea Party. Named the Coercive Acts by Parliament, these became known as the Intolerable Acts in America. The Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, establishing a government that removed control of the province from the Crown outside of Boston. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance, and established committees, British attempts to seize the munitions of Massachusetts colonists in April 1775 led to the first open combat between Crown forces and Massachusetts militia, the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Militia forces proceeded to besiege the British forces in Boston, forcing them to evacuate the city in March 1776, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington to take command of the militia. Concurrent to the Boston campaign, an American attempt to invade Quebec, on July 2,1776, the Continental Congress formally voted for independence, issuing its Declaration on July 4. Sir William Howe began a British counterattack, focussing on recapturing New York City, Howe outmaneuvered and defeated Washington, leaving American confidence at a low ebb. Washington captured a Hessian force at Trenton and drove the British out of New Jersey, in 1777 the British sent a new army under John Burgoyne to move south from Canada and to isolate the New England colonies. However, instead of assisting Burgoyne, Howe took his army on a campaign against the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia. Burgoyne outran his supplies, was surrounded and surrendered at Saratoga in October 1777, the British defeat in the Saratoga Campaign had drastic consequences. Giving up on the North, the British decided to salvage their former colonies in the South, British forces under Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis seized Georgia and South Carolina, capturing an American army at Charleston, South Carolina. British strategy depended upon an uprising of large numbers of armed Loyalists, in 1779 Spain joined the war as an ally of France under the Pacte de Famille, intending to capture Gibraltar and British colonies in the Caribbean. Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic in December 1780, in 1781, after the British and their allies had suffered two decisive defeats at Kings Mountain and Cowpens, Cornwallis retreated to Virginia, intending on evacuation. A decisive French naval victory in September deprived the British of an escape route, a joint Franco-American army led by Count Rochambeau and Washington, laid siege to the British forces at Yorktown. With no sign of relief and the situation untenable, Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781, Whigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tory majority in Parliament, but the defeat at Yorktown gave the Whigs the upper hand

32.
Zulu people
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The Zulu are a Bantu ethnic group of Southern Africa and the largest ethnic group in South Africa, with an estimated 10–11 million people living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Small numbers also live in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, the Zulu were originally a major clan in what is today Northern KwaZulu-Natal, founded ca.1709 by Zulu kaMalandela. In the Nguni languages, iZulu means heaven, or weather, at that time, the area was occupied by many large Nguni communities and clans. Nguni communities had migrated down Africas east coast over centuries, as part of the Bantu migrations probably arriving in what is now South Africa in about the 9th century, the Zulu formed a powerful state in 1818 under the leader Shaka. Shaka, as the Zulu King, gained an amount of power over the tribe. On 11 December 1878, agents of the British delivered an ultimatum to 11 chiefs representing Cetshwayo, the terms forced upon Cetshwayo required him to disband his army and accept British authority. Cetshwayo refused, and war followed January 12,1879, during the war, the Zulus defeated the British at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January. The British managed to get the hand after the Battle at Rorkes Drift. After Cetshwayos capture a month following his defeat, the British divided the Zulu Empire into 13 kinglets, the sub-kingdoms fought amongst each other until 1883 when Cetshwayo was reinstated as king over Zululand. This still did not stop the fighting and the Zulu monarch was forced to flee his realm by Zibhebhu, one of the 13 kinglets, Cetshwayo died in February 1884, killed by Zibhebhus regime, leaving his son, the 15-year-old Dinuzulu, to inherit the throne. In-fighting between the Zulu continued for years, until Zululand was absorbed fully into the British colony of Natal, under apartheid, the homeland of KwaZulu was created for Zulu people. In 1970, the Bantu Homeland Citizenship Act provided that all Zulus would become citizens of KwaZulu, KwaZulu consisted of a large number of disconnected pieces of land, in what is now KwaZulu-Natal. By 1993, approximately 5.2 million Zulu people lived in KwaZulu, the Chief Minister of KwaZulu, from its creation in 1970 was Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. In 1994, KwaZulu was joined with the province of Natal, Inkatha YeSizwe means the crown of the nation. In 1975, Buthelezi revived the Inkatha YaKwaZulu, predecessor of the Inkatha Freedom Party and this organization was nominally a protest movement against apartheid, but held more conservative views than the ANC. For example, Inkatha was opposed to the struggle. Inkatha was initially on good terms with the ANC, but the two came into increasing conflict beginning in 1976 in the aftermath of the Soweto Uprising. The modern Zulu population is evenly distributed in both urban and rural areas

33.
Impi
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Impi is a Zulu word for any armed body of men. However, in English it is used to refer to a Zulu regiment. Its beginnings lie far back in historic tribal warfare customs, when groups of armed men called impis battled and these innovations in turn drew upon existing tribal customs, such as the iNtanga. This was an age grade tradition common among many of the Bantu peoples of the southern region. Youths were organised into age groups, with each responsible for certain duties. Kraal or settlement elders generally handled local disputes and issues, above them were the inDunas, and above the inDunas stood the chief of a particular clan lineage or tribe. The inDunas handled administrative matters for their chiefs – ranging from settlement of disputes, in time of war, the inDunas supervised the fighting men in their areas, forming leadership of the military forces deployed for combat. The age grade iNtangas, under the guidance of the inDunas, militarily warfare was mild among the Bantu prior to the rise of Shaka, though it occurred frequently. Objectives were typically limited to such matters as recovering cattle, avenging some personal insult, generally a loose mob, called an impi participated in these melees. There were no campaigns of extermination against the defeated and they simply moved on to other open spaces on the veldt, and equilibrium was restored. The bow and arrow were known but seldom used, warfare, like the hunt, depended on skilled spearmen and trackers. The primary weapon was a thin 6-foot throwing spear, the assegai, defensive weapons included a small cowhide shield, which was later improved by King Shaka. Many battles were prearranged, with the clan warriors meeting at a place and time. Ritualized taunts, single combats and tentative charges were the typical pattern, if the affair did not dissipate before, one side might find enough courage to mount a sustained attack, driving off their enemies. The defeated clan might pay in lands or cattle and have captives to be ransomed, outside the ritual battles, the quick raid was the most frequent combat action, marked by burning kraals, seizure of captives, and the driving off of cattle. Pastoral herders and light agriculturalists, the Bantu did not usually build permanent fortifications to fend off enemies, a clan under threat simply packed their meager material possessions, rounded up their cattle and fled until the marauders were gone. If the marauders did not stay to permanently dispossess them of grazing areas, the genesis of the Zulu impi thus lies in tribal structures existing long before the coming of Europeans or the Shaka era. In the early 19th century, a combination of factors began to change the customary pattern and these included rising populations, the growth of white settlement and slaving that dispossessed native peoples both at the Cape and in Portuguese Mozambique, and the rise of ambitious new men

34.
Genghis Khan
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Genghis Khan, born Temüjin, was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. He came to power by uniting many of the tribes of Northeast Asia. After founding the Empire and being proclaimed Genghis Khan, he started the Mongol invasions that conquered most of Eurasia, campaigns initiated in his lifetime include those against the Qara Khitai, Caucasus, and Khwarazmian, Western Xia and Jin dynasties. These campaigns were accompanied by large-scale massacres of the civilian populations – especially in the Khwarazmian. By the end of his life, the Mongol Empire occupied a portion of Central Asia. Before Genghis Khan died, he assigned Ögedei Khan as his successor and he died in 1227 after defeating the Western Xia. He was buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in Mongolia, many of these invasions repeated the earlier large-scale slaughters of local populations. As a result, Genghis Khan and his empire have a reputation in local histories. Beyond his military accomplishments, Genghis Khan also advanced the Mongol Empire in other ways and he decreed the adoption of the Uyghur script as the Mongol Empires writing system. He also practiced meritocracy and encouraged religious tolerance in the Mongol Empire, present-day Mongolians regard him as the founding father of Mongolia. This brought communication and trade from Northeast Asia into Muslim Southwest Asia and Christian Europe, Temüjin was related on his fathers side to Khabul Khan, Ambaghai, and Hotula Khan, who had headed the Khamag Mongol confederation and were descendants of Bodonchar Munkhag. When the Jurchen Jin dynasty switched support from the Mongols to the Tatars in 1161, Temüjins father, Yesügei, emerged as the head of the ruling Mongol clan. This position was contested by the rival Tayichiud clan, who descended directly from Ambaghai, when the Tatars grew too powerful after 1161, the Jin switched their support from the Tatars to the Keraites. Little is known about Temüjins early life, due to the lack of written records. The few sources that give insight into this period often contradict, Temüjins name was derived from the Mongol word temür meaning of iron, while jin denotes agency thus temüjin means blacksmith. Temüjin was probably born in 1162 in Delüün Boldog, near the mountain Burkhan Khaldun, the Secret History of the Mongols reports that Temüjin was born grasping a blood clot in his fist, a traditional sign that he was destined to become a great leader. He was the son of his father Yesügei who was a Kiyad chief prominent in the Khamag Mongol confederation. Temüjin was the first son of his mother Hoelun, according to the Secret History, Temüjin was named after the Tatar chief Temüjin-üge whom his father had just captured

35.
Battle of Kirkuk (1733)
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The battle was another in the chain of seemingly unpredictable triumphs and tragedies for both sides as the war swung wildly from the favour of one side to the other. The defeat Nader had conceded at the battle of Samara had effects beyond just the results of reducing Naders force by 30,000. Summoning his officers he began with admitting his own mistakes, claimed his fate and those of him men as one and the same, reminding them of their past sacrifices and bravery, promised them that he would wipe away the memory of their recent defeat. Naders solution was first to rectify the problem of Topal Pasha and it is unclear to what extent Nader craved an opportunity to repair his ego as well as his reputation by defeating Topal Pasha who was the only man to have bested him on the field of battle. Nader set about rebuilding his army for another confrontation with the victorious Topal Pasha. Topal Pasha was also eager to make good his losses having suffered the loss of 20,000 men or 1 out of every 4 in his army. Sending requests to Istanbul he also demanded to be replaced with a younger general, by the time of the next Persian invasion of Iraq however he managed to put together an army 100,000 strong. Naders spies informed him of a 12,000 strong force approaching via the valley of Agh-Darband, Topal Pasha had dispatched this body of men under Memish Pasha as an advance guard with himself following up with the main army. Nader also sent out a guard under Haji Beg Khan in order to lure the Memish Pasha towards the main Persian army. After pursuing Haji Beg for a distance Memish Pasha marched right into the jaws of Naders ambush with two sets of 15,000 men setting upon the Ottomans from two directions and routing them with ease. Memish Pasha who had sent word to Topal Osman Pasha claiming to have routed the Persian and requesting further troops for the pursuit now lay amongst the dead. The route of Memish Pashas soldiers was followed up by an advance by Nader with the bulk of his army against the main Ottoman force under Topal Pasha who was a mere 5 kilometres away. Topal Pasha sensing something was afoot ordered a halt and began to deploy his men, as the Persian army closed the distance Nader formed up his infantry body in a line and sent it forward to engage the janissaries. An incredible enfilade commenced were the Ottoman and Persian soldiery raked fire upon each other for two hours, the Persian Jazāyerchi, after two hours of continuous musketry directly charged into the janissaries ranks. The Ottomans were now pressed by an assault of sabre-armed Jazāyerchi from ahead as well as two bodies of cavalry slicing into their formations from either flank. As the janissaries began to collapse and were chased from their positions the jazayerchi started to fire into their backs, the situation was so dire that Topal Pasha recognized his melancholy fate and mounted a horse to join his men in what would be his last battle. The old fox had been outwitted by the young Turk who he had all too recently bested at Samara, the old general was shot twice before he fell from his mount whence a Persian cavalryman severed his head from his body, taking the gory item to present to Nader. The battle ended with some 20,000 Ottoman casualties in addition to the loss of all their artillery as well as most of their baggage, sufficient vengeance for the terrible defeat Topal Pasha had inflicted on Nader at Samara

36.
Nader Shah
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Nader Shah was one of the most powerful Iranian rulers in the history of that nation, ruling as Shah of Persia from 1736 to 1747 when he was assassinated during a rebellion. Nader Shah was an Iranian who belonged to the Turcoman Afshar tribe of Greater Khorasan in northeastern Iran, Nader reunited the Persian realm and removed the invaders. He became so powerful that he decided to depose the last members of the Safavid dynasty, which had ruled Iran for over 200 years, Nader idolized Genghis Khan and Timur, the previous conquerors from Central Asia. He imitated their military prowess and — especially later in his reign — their cruelty, Nader Shah has been described as the last great Asiatic military conqueror. His father, Emam Qoli, was a herdsman who may also have been a coatmaker, at the age of 13, his father died and Nader had to find a way to support himself and his mother. He had no source of other than the sticks he gathered for firewood. Many years later, when he was returning in triumph from his conquest of Delhi, he led the army to his birthplace and made a speech to his generals about his early life of deprivation. He said, You now see to what height it has pleased the Almighty to exalt me, from hence, Naders early experiences did not, however, make him particularly compassionate toward the poor. Throughout his career, he was interested in his own advancement. Legend has it that in 1704, when he was about 17, a band of marauding Uzbek Tartars invaded the province of Khorasan, Nader and his mother were among those who were carried off into slavery. Somehow, Nader managed to escape and returned to the province of Khorasan in 1708, living under the most desperate circumstances, he and his friends stole a flock of sheep and sold them in the market. With the money they made, they fled into the mountains, tiring of life as a fugitive, Nader presented himself to a Persian nobleman. He was employed as a courier, to deliver important messages to the court at Isfahan in 1712. A second courier accompanied Nader on these missions, however, upon his return he saw that his master was quite upset. By the look on his face, Nader assumed that the nobleman planned to kill him and he had also fallen in love with the noblemans daughter, but his master flatly refused to consider letting them marry. Because of his disappointment and in order to defend himself, Nader killed the nobleman and fled into the mountains with the daughter, other servants of the dead nobleman joined Nader and they formed a gang of robbers operating in the province of Mazanderan. Nader grew up during the years of the Safavid dynasty which had ruled Iran since 1502. When Sultan Husayn attempted to quell a rebellion by the Ghilzai Afghans in Kandahar, under their leader Mahmud Hotaki, the rebellious Afghans moved westwards against the shah himself and in 1722 they defeated a force at the Battle of Gulnabad and then besieged the capital, Isfahan

37.
Battle of Kars (1745)
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The Battle of Kars was the last major engagement of the Ottoman-Persian War. The battle resulted in the complete and utter destruction of the Ottoman army and it was also the last of the great military triumphs of Nader Shah. During Naders last punitive expedition in Dagestan, the Persian army moved south after devastating the region with many settlements razed to the ground, on June 14,1745 Nader returned to Derbent remaining there for months before setting out south. He became extremely ill and had to be carried in a litter before the army halted at Yerevan, the court physicians nursed the Shah back to health. Nader Shah was informed that two large Ottoman armies were headed eastward to his borders, one headed to Kars and the other to Mosul. Nader Shah immediately went on to the offensive and split his forces into two, nassrollah Mirza, Nader Shahs son, was given a large component of the Persian army with the objective of defeating the Ottomans headed for Mosul and Nader himself set out for Kars. Naders army marched west past Yerevan when news was brought of the Ottoman armys departure from Kars under the command of Yegen Mohammad Pasha, Nader continued west and camped upon a hill near Yeghevārd. This was the same hill Nader had made camp on approximately 10 years previously when he had crushed an Ottoman army at the Battle of Yeghevārd, Yegen Pasha advanced until 10-12 kilometres from the Persian army and ordered his men to build extensive fortifications around their camp. Nader ordered his Jazāyerchi to advance against the centre and after firing a single massed volley, draw there shamshirs, the battle raged with either side feeding in a steady stream of reinforcements into the centre. The Ottoman cavalry held back due to their inferiority to their Persian counterparts, unlike in many other battles Nader fought in his career, he commanded the battle of Kars from his camp with messengers sending out his orders and returning with reports from the battlefield. By afternoon, Naders retainers brought back reports from the battlefield which indicated there would be no decisive conclusion either way, Nader decided to don his armour and mount his horse. Nader led a force of 40,000 elite cavalry from the Savaran-e Sepah-e Khorasan he had held in reserve against the flank of the Ottoman army in a huge attack. The ferocity of the fighting was such that two horses were shot from under Nader, but the Ottoman army could not sustain the impact of the charge and became broken up. A contingent of Anatolian troops from Asia minor, fled leaving the rest of the Ottoman army to retreat in utter chaos, the Persian army engaged in a pursuit before dusk and subsequently returned to their camp. On the next day Nader sent forth a fowj to cut the line of the Ottoman army back to Kars. The Persian army began surrounding the Ottoman camp, a few skirmishes ensued but all attempts by the Turks to break the encirclement failed. Yegen Pasha attempted to remedy this by deploying his guns, the Persian artillery batteries were deployed and a counter-battery fire was commenced in which the Ottoman artillery was outclassed in both accuracy and rate of fire. Many of Yegen Pashas artillery pieces were blown to pieces, their components scattered across the field and this demoralising event brought the Ottomans trapped inside the camps walls to the brink of mutiny

38.
Battle of Karnal
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The Battle of Karnal, was a decisive victory for Nader, the Shāh of Iran, during his invasion of Mughal India. Naders forces defeated the army of Muhammad Shah within three hours, despite being outnumbered, paving the way for the Persian sack of Delhi. The engagement is considered the jewel in Naders military career as well as a tactical masterpiece. The battle took place near Karnal,110 kilometres north of Delhi, the battle was the culminating point of Nader Shahs invasion of the Mughal Empire. After his conquest of eastern Afghanistan and invasion via Kabul and Peshawar, at Delhi Muhammad Shah gathered an extremely large force with which he marched north before his cumbersome army ground to a halt at Karnal. Nader gave battle and won a crushing victory, in the negotiations following the catastrophic defeat, Muhammad Shah agreed to pay a large indemnity in exchange for maintaining his imperium over his lands. Nader however, forced the Mughal emperor to submit utterly and marched him to his capital, Delhi, an uprising against Naders soldiers by Delhis citizens ended in a bloody massacre where the entire city was sacked and looted. The enormous plunder gained in Delhi caused Nader to issue a decree removing all taxes for a total of three years. The Persian army soon after departed leaving behind 30,000 dead, Muhammad Shah was also forced to concede all his lands west of the Indus which were annexed by Nader Shah. As a result of the defeat of the Mughal Empire at Karnal. It is also possible that without the effects of Naders invasion of India. Nader had sent a number of requests to the local governors, in the aftermath of his conquest of Afghanistan Nader was seeking a pretext for invading the Mughal Empire. Naturally he seized upon this opportunity to mask his invasion in the form of a hunt for the Afghan warriors who had found asylum in the terrain of the northern Mughal realm. It is also noteworthy that Nader had been in contact with one of the main Mughal ministers, Nizam-ul-Mulk, whilst it is possible that Nizam-ul-Mulk did in fact provoke Naders invasion of the Mughal Empire, it remains an implausible conjecture. Whether or not the Mughal Empire could have defused the situation diplomatically is still a matter of discussion and it is very possible that they were an insubstantial number. As Nader moved into the Mughal territories, he was accompanied by his Georgian subject and future king of Georgia, Erekle II. Nader being convinced of the futility of a struggle, instead opted for a more refined approach. A local guide informed him of a difficult yet traversable pass running parallel to that of Kheibar called the pass of Chatchoobi, thus the path to the north-lands of the Mughal Empire was cleared and the main body of the Imperial Persian army could march into the Mughal interior

39.
Blitzkrieg
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During the Invasion of Poland, Western journalists adopted the term blitzkrieg to describe this form of armoured warfare. The term had appeared in 1935, in a German military periodical Deutsche Wehr, German manoeuvre operations were successful in the campaigns of 1939–1941 and by 1940 the term blitzkrieg was extensively used in Western media. Blitzkrieg operations capitalized on surprise penetrations, general enemy unreadiness and their inability to match the pace of the German attack, during the Battle of France, the French made attempts to re-form defensive lines along rivers but were frustrated when German forces arrived first and pressed on. Despite being common in German and English-language journalism during World War II, some senior officers, including Kurt Student, Franz Halder and Johann Adolf von Kielmansegg, even disputed the idea that it was a military concept. Kielmansegg asserted that many regarded as blitzkrieg was nothing more than ad hoc solutions that simply popped out of the prevailing situation. Student described it as ideas that emerged from the existing circumstances as a response to operational challenges. The Wehrmacht never officially adopted it as a concept or doctrine, modern historians use the term casually as a generic description for the style of manoeuvre warfare practised by Germany during the early part of World War II, rather than as an explanation. According to Frieser, in the context of the thinking of Heinz Guderian on mobile combined arms formations, blitzkrieg can be used as a synonym for modern manoeuvre warfare on the operational level. The traditional meaning of blitzkrieg is that of German tactical and operational methodology in the first half of the Second World War, that is often hailed as a new method of warfare. The word, meaning lightning war, in its strategic sense describes a series of quick, the devices were largely removed when the enemy became used to the noise after the Battle of France in 1940 and instead bombs sometimes had whistles attached. It is also common for historians and writers to include psychological warfare by using Fifth columnists to spread rumours, the origin of the term blitzkrieg is obscure. It was never used in the title of a doctrine or handbook of the German army or air force. Both used the term to mean a swift strategic knock-out, rather than a new military doctrine or approach to war. The first article deals primarily with supplies of food and materiel in wartime, the term blitzkrieg is used with reference to German efforts to win a quick victory in the First World War but is not associated with the use of armoured, mechanised or air forces. It argued that Germany must develop self-sufficiency in food, because it might again prove impossible to deal a swift knock-out to its enemies, the author vaguely suggests that a massive strategic air attack might hold out better prospects but the topic is not explored in detail. Sternberg wrote that Germany was not prepared economically for a long war and he did not go into detail about tactics or suggest that the German armed forces had evolved a radically new operational method. His book offers scant clues as to how German lightning victories might be won, in English and other languages, the term had been used since the 1920s. It was later applied to the bombing of Britain, particularly London, the German popular press followed suit nine months later, after the fall of France in 1940, hence although the word had been used in German, it was first popularized by British journalism

40.
Nazi Germany
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Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Under Hitlers rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943, the period is also known under the names the Third Reich and the National Socialist Period. The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery, a national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer of Germany. All power was centralised in Hitlers person, and his word became above all laws, the government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitlers favour. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending, extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of Autobahnen. The return to economic stability boosted the regimes popularity, racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitlers rule was ruthlessly suppressed, members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned, education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed, recreation and tourism were organised via the Strength Through Joy program, and the 1936 Summer Olympics showcased the Third Reich on the international stage. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, the government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Beginning in the late 1930s, Nazi Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands and it seized Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Hitler made a pact with Joseph Stalin and invaded Poland in September 1939. In alliance with Italy and smaller Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940, reichskommissariats took control of conquered areas, and a German administration was established in what was left of Poland. Jews and others deemed undesirable were imprisoned, murdered in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the tide gradually turned against the Nazis, who suffered major military defeats in 1943

41.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan

42.
Command and control
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Command generally refers to the ability to dominate an area of situation. There are several definitions of command and control, according to older versions of U. S. The term may refer to command and control systems within a military system. The 1988 NATO definition reads, Command and control is the exercise of authority, Canadian defence scientists Ross Pigeau and Carol McCann discuss the issues and uncertainties related to the definition of command & control in their article in the Canadian Military Journal. The book by Vassiliou et al, the US Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. Defines command and control as, The exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission, however, this sentence is missing from the command and control entry for the edition As Amended Through 15 August 2014. Commanding officers are assisted in executing these tasks by specialized staff officers and these military staff are a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units. The purpose of a staff is mainly that of providing accurate. The key application is that of decisions that effectively manage unit resources, while information flow toward the commander is a priority, information that is useful or contingent in nature is communicated to lower staffs and units. This term is also in use within the computer security industry. Here the term refers to the influence an attacker has over a computer system that they control. For example, a usage of the term is to say that attackers use command and control infrastructure to issue command. Advanced analysis of command and control methodologies can be used to identify attackers, associate attacks, there are a plethora of derivative terms which emphasise different aspects, uses and sub-domains of C2. These terms come with a plethora of associated abbreviations – for example, in addition to C2, command and control is often abbreviated as C2. Command, The exercise of authority based upon certain knowledge to attain an objective, control, The process of verifying and correcting activity such that the objective or goal of command is accomplished. Communication, Ability to exercise the necessary liaison to exercise effective command between tactical or strategic units to command, computers, The computer systems and compatibility of computer systems. Intelligence, Includes collection as well as analysis and distribution of information, Command and control centers are operated by a government or municipal agency. Various branches of the US military such as the US Coast Guard and Navy have command and they are also common in many large correctional facilities

43.
Battle of Kiev (1941)
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The First Battle of Kiev was the German name for the operation that resulted in a very large encirclement of Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kiev during World War II. This encirclement is considered the largest encirclement in the history of warfare, the operation ran from 7 August to 26 September 1941 as part of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union. In Soviet military history, it is referred to as the Kiev Strategic Defensive Operation, kirponos was trapped behind German lines and killed while trying to break out. The battle was a defeat for the Red Army, exceeding even the Battle of Białystok–Minsk of June–July 1941. The encirclement trapped 452,700 soldiers,2,642 guns and mortars and 64 tanks, the Southwestern Front suffered 700,544 casualties, including 616,304 killed, captured or missing during the battle. The 5th, 37th, 26th, 21st and the 38th armies, consisting of 43 divisions, were almost annihilated, like the Western Front before it, the Southwestern Front had to be recreated almost from scratch. After the rapid progress of Army Group Centre through the sector of the Eastern front. A substantial Soviet force, nearly the entire Southwestern Front, positioned in, on 3 August, Hitler temporarily cancelled the drive on Moscow in favor of driving south and attacking Kiev in Ukraine. However, on 12 August 1941, Supplement to Directive No, then the three Panzer Groups, under the control of Army Group Center, will lead the advance on Moscow. On 18 August, OKH submitted a survey to Hitler regarding the continuation of operations in the East. The paper made the case for the drive to Moscow, arguing again that Army Groups North and South were strong enough to accomplish their objectives without any assistance from Army Group Center. Pointing out that there was enough time left before winter to conduct a single decisive operation against Moscow. On 20 August, Hitler rejected the proposal based on the idea that the most important objective was to deprive the Soviets of their industrial areas, on 21 August Jodl of OKW issued a directive, which summarized Hitlers instructions, to Brauchitsch commander of the Army. The paper reiterated that the capture of Moscow before the onset of winter was not a primary objective, Hitler referred to the Soviet forces in the salient collectively as the Russian 5th Army. Engel in his diary for 21 August 1941, simply summarized it as, Halder offered his own resignation and advised Brauchitsch to do the same. However, Brauchitsch declined, stating Hitler would not accept the gesture, Halder withdrew his offer of resignation. On 23 August, Halder convened with Bock and Guderian in Borisov, during a meeting between Guderian and Hitler, with neither Halder nor Brauchitsch present, Hitler allowed Guderian to make the case for driving on to Moscow, and then rejected his argument. In point of fact Hitler had already issued the orders for the shift of Guderians panzer group to the south, Guderian returned to his panzer group and began the southern thrust in an effort to encircle the Soviet forces in the salient

44.
Battle of St. Vith
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The town of St. Vith, a vital road junction, was close to the boundary between the 5th and Sepp Dietrich’s Sixth Panzer Army, the two strongest units of the attack. St. Vith was also close to the end of the Losheim Gap, a critical valley through the densely forested ridges of the Ardennes Forest. Opposing this drive were units of the U. S. VIII Corps and these units, which operated under the command of Generals Robert W. Hasbrouck and Alan W. Jones, successfully resisted the German attacks, thereby significantly slowing the German advance. By 23 December, as the Germans shattered their flanks, the position became untenable. As the German plan called for the capture of St. Vith by 18,00 on 17 December, adolf Hitler, dictator of the Third Reich, first outlined his plan for a decisive counteroffensive on the Western Front on 16 September 1944. This assaults goal was to pierce the thinly held lines of the U. S, the main purpose of the counteroffensive was both political and diplomatic. Germany could then make a peace with the Western Allies. In the months following the pronouncement, Hitler gathered reserves for his plan in great secrecy. His chosen commander for the Western Front and figurehead behind which new armies would rally was Gerd von Rundstedt, under his banner was recreated a rebuilt Army Group B consisting of three armies, 6th SS Panzer, 5th Panzer and 7th Army. These armies would drive west through the Ardennes in a repeat of the western offensive of 1940. The 5th Panzer Army would support the flank of the 6th. The center army for the offensive was the 5th Panzer Army. It was neither as politically favored nor as well equipped as the 6th SS Panzer Army, Manteuffel had a reputation for meticulous planning and daring execution, along with a flair for independent thinking that had led to trouble in the past with his superiors. As a technical expert, he retained enough of a reputation to be trusted with a supporting role in the grand plan. Though second in power to 6th SS Panzer Army, the 5th Panzer Army still represented considerable mobile strength, four Panzer Divisions and one Panzer Brigade were supported by five Volksgrenadier divisions. Supporting these mobile fighting forces were numerous artillery, antiaircraft, after being informed of the nature of the offensive in a meeting with Hitler, von Rundstedt, and Model on 27 October 1944, Manteuffel proceeded to place his personal imprint on the grand plan. At first he supported Model’s and Rundstedt’s attempt to narrow the scope of the operation to the means that Army Group B could bring to bear, the 1944 offensive could not equal the strength of the 1940 invasion of the west. The number of vehicles and particularly the number of supporting aircraft would be lacking, therefore, Manteuffel supported what came to be called the “small solution”, a limited envelopment that would destroy the American First and Ninth armies

45.
Battle of Moscow
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The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a 600 km sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942, the Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitlers attack on Moscow, capital of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the largest Soviet city. Moscow was one of the military and political objectives for Axis forces in their invasion of the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion plan, called for the capture of Moscow within four months, the German Army Group North moved towards Leningrad, Army Group South took control of Ukraine, and Army Group Center advanced towards Moscow. By July 1941, Army Group Center crossed the Dnieper River, in August 1941, German forces captured Smolensk, an important stronghold on the road to Moscow. At this stage, although Moscow was vulnerable, an offensive against the city would have exposed the German flanks. In part to address these risks, in part to attempt to secure Ukraines food and mineral resources, Hitler ordered the attack to turn north and south and eliminate Soviet forces at Leningrad and this delayed the German advance on Moscow. When that advance resumed on 2 October 1941, German forces had been weakened, for Hitler, the Soviet capital was secondary, and he believed the only way to bring the Soviet Union to its knees was to defeat it economically. He felt this could be accomplished by seizing the economic resources of Ukraine east of Kiev, when Walther von Brauchitsch, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, supported a direct thrust to Moscow, he was told that only ossified brains could think of such an idea. Franz Halder, head of the Army General Staff, was convinced that a drive to seize Moscow would be victorious after the German Army inflicted enough damage on the Soviet forces. This view was shared by most within the German high command, but Hitler overruled his generals in favor of pocketing the Soviet forces around Kiev in the south, followed by the seizure of Ukraine. The move was successful, resulting in the loss of 660,000 Red Army personnel by 26 September, with the end of summer, Hitler redirected his attention to Moscow and assigned Army Group Center to this task. The forces committed to Operation Typhoon included three infantry armies supported by three Panzer Groups and by the Luftwaffes Luftflotte 2, up to two million German troops were committed to the operation, along with 1,000 tanks and 14,000 guns. German aerial strength, however, had severely reduced over the summers campaign. Luftflotte 2 had only 549 serviceable machines, including 158 medium and dive-bombers and 172 fighters, the attack relied on standard blitzkrieg tactics, using Panzer groups rushing deep into Soviet formations and executing double-pincer movements, pocketing Red Army divisions and destroying them. Facing the Wehrmacht were three Soviet fronts forming a line between the cities of Vyazma and Bryansk, which barred the way to Moscow. The armies comprising these fronts had also involved in heavy fighting. Still, it was a formidable concentration consisting of 1,250,000 men,1,000 tanks and 7,600 guns, the Soviet Air Force had suffered appalling losses of some 7,500 or 21,200 aircraft

46.
Battle of the Trebia
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It was a resounding Roman defeat with heavy losses, and yet some 10,000 and more Romans, over 2.5 legions, survived on the field and retreated in order to Placentia. In this battle, Hannibal got the better of the Romans by exercising the careful and innovative planning for which he was famous. The battle took place in the country of the Province of Piacenza on the left bank of the Trebbia River. The battle is named for the river, the area is possibly in the comune of Rottofreno at its main settlement, San Nicolò a Trebbia, in the vicinity of the coordinates given at the head of this article. The two main sources on the battle are the History of Rome by Livy and Histories of Polybius, reconstruction of the disposition is the major scholarly concern regarding the battle. The sources all agree on the outcome, contending views stem from the confusion of real and hypothetical events, beginning with the supposed union of the two consular armies, which Sempronius had been ordered to effect. He was advancing with all speed to join Publius, whether the union went any further is questionable. The two consuls maintained widely separated camps, Polybius assumes a union of troops would have been effected and Sempronius would be commanding four legions. He explains how after the defeat, Sempronius army fell back on Placentia but neglects totally to say happened to the wounded Scipio. He is reported to have asked Scipio his advice on whether to attack and was advised against it. There is no account at all of Scipio handing over any troops, if, as many authors suppose, Hannibal was trying to prevent a union, he seems singularly unaware of it. He made no move to stop Sempronius coming up from the east, the consuls themselves, however, each jealously guarded his own authority. Starting with Polybius, some military writers throughout the centuries have assumed that because union was intended it was effected, in fact there was not one camp, but two — Scipios camp in the hills on the left bank and Sempronius camp in the plains on the right bank. Neglect of this duality leaves the writers free to either as the Roman Camp, consequently, it appears now on the left bank, now on the right, now in the hills. Hannibal began the Second Punic War in 219 BC by attacking the Roman-allied city of Saguntum just north of what is now Valencia in Spain, trekking over the Alps the Carthaginian force made it through the mountains with staggering losses, being reduced to 26,000 emaciated men. At this time, Hannibal was camped in the plain below Scipios camp near Placentia, the exact place where Hannibal camped is unclear, but it is thought to have been southeast of Placentia, on the Nura. ‘I was, ’ he says, ‘in a more favorable situation than Hannibal, the two consuls had a common interest, to cover Rome, both generals I was attacking each had interests which required that Beaulieu cover the Milanese and Colli cover the Piedmont. Finding himself blocked from reinforcement, Scipio became distressed, moreover, he was troubled by a defection among the Gauls in his own camp, who killed a number of the Roman men on guard

47.
Battle of San Lorenzo
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The Battle of San Lorenzo was fought on February 3,1813 in San Lorenzo, Argentina, then part of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. A Spanish Royalist force under the command of Antonio Zabala was defeated by the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers and this battle was the baptism of fire for this military unit, and for San Martín in the Spanish American wars of independence. Montevideo, a royalist stronghold during the Argentine War of Independence, was under siege by José Gervasio Artigas and those in the city raided population centres along the nearby rivers for supplies. José de San Martín, who shortly before had arrived in Buenos Aires and formed the regiment, followed the royalist ships to San Lorenzo. The area around San Lorenzo formed a large empty plain, so the regiment hid inside the San Carlos convent during the night and San Martín studied the battlefield, the battle started at dawn, when the grenadiers made a surprise pincer movement to trap the enemy forces. One column was led by San Martín, and the other by Justo Germán Bermúdez, San Martín fell from his horse, and was nearly killed, but Juan Bautista Cabral and Juan Bautista Baigorria intervened and saved him. The royalists were defeated, but continued to raid villages for more time afterwards. This battle was the one that San Martín fought on the modern territory of Argentina. The city of San Lorenzo keeps historic memorials of the battle, although Buenos Aires had suffered a difficult period in its war for independence, its prospects were improving by 1812. The city, however, maintained its supremacy over Buenos Aires and their ships raided the coasts of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers to gather supplies. The Royalist expeditionary navy that would raid San Lorenzo comprised eleven ships of varying sizes and they moved into the Paraná through its tributary, the Paraná Guazú River, slowed down by headwinds. The Second Triumvirate promoted José de San Martín to colonel and instructed him to them with the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers. San Martín was influenced by Napoleonic warfare and trained the regiment with the most recent military techniques used in the Napoleonic Wars, San Martín moved the regiment from Retiro to Rosario, nearing the river at San Pedro and San Nicolás. He was following the Spanish ships and moved at night to avoid detection, San Martín had one hundred and twenty men for this action, reinforced at Rosario by a militia of seventy men under the command of Celedonio Escalada. Those reinforcements included twenty two rifleman, thirty cavalry, a cannon and men armed with knives. Escalada had made other actions against the royalists before this battle, San Martín discovered that the royalists intended to pillage the San Carlos Convent and pressed the march to arrive there first. A hundred royalists landed on San Lorenzo, but the food available to them was some chickens and watermelons. Aware of the risk of pillage, the population had removed the cattle from the area before the royalists arrived, Escalada arrived in San Lorenzo before the bulk of the patriot army, but the dust trail from the path to Rosario revealed their presence

Battle of Cannae
–
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War that took place on 2 August 216 BC in Apulia, in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage, under Hannibal, surrounded and decisively defeated an army of the Roman Republic under the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. It is regarded both as one of the greatest tacti

1.
A modern monument near the site of the Battle of Cannae.

2.
Hannibal's route of invasion.

3.
Modern interpretation of a slinger from the Balearic Islands (famous for the skill of their slingers)

4.
The Death of Aemilius Paullus by John Trumbull, 1773

Flanders
–
Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, although there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics and history. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, the demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The off

1.
The Sack of Antwerp in 1576, in which about 7,000 people died.

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Flag

3.
Winter scene by Sebastian Vrancx, 1622

4.
1609 map of the county of Flanders

Battle of France
–
The Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940 during the Second World War. Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940 and attempted an invasion of France, the German plan for the invasion of France consisted of two main operations. After the withdrawal of the BEF, the German force

1.
Clockwise from top left: German Panzer IV tanks passing through a town in France; German soldiers marching past the Arc de Triomphe after the surrender of Paris, 14 June 1940; column of French Renault R35 tanks at Sedan, Ardennes; British and French prisoners at Veules-les-Roses; French soldiers on review within the Maginot Line fortifications.

2.
Newly arrived British troops move up to the front, May 1940

3.
A burnt out German Junkers Ju 52 transport lying in a Dutch field

4.
An abandoned Belgian tank is inspected by German soldiers

Battle of Stalingrad
–
Marked by fierce close quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians by air raids, it is often regarded as one of the single largest and bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. German forces never regained the initiative in the East and withdrew a vast military force from the West to replace their losses, the German offensive to capture Sta

1.
Soviet soldier waving the Red Banner over the central plaza of Stalingrad in 1943.

3.
October 1942: German officer with a Russian PPSh-41 submachine gun in Barrikady factory rubble. Many German soldiers took up Russian weapons when found, as they were more effective than their own in close quarter combat.

4.
German soldiers on their way in Stalingrad

Maneuver warfare
–
Maneuver warfare, or manoeuvre warfare, is a military strategy that advocates attempting to defeat the enemy by incapacitating their decision-making through shock and disruption. Methods of war stand on a continuum between maneuver warfare and attrition warfare, the focus on achieving victory through killing or capturing the enemy, Maneuver warfare

1.
JGSDF soldiers rush out of their LAV to counter an ambush.

Flanking maneuver
–
In military tactics, a flanking maneuver, or flanking manoeuvre is a movement of an armed force around a flank to achieve an advantageous position over an enemy. Flanking is useful because a forces offensive power is concentrated in its front, therefore, to circumvent a forces front and attack a flank is to concentrate offense in the area when the

1.
The Battle of Kirkuk (1733)

2.
The Battle of Marathon, an example of the double-envelopment, a form of flanking maneuver

Encirclement
–
Encirclement is a military term for the situation when a force or target is isolated and surrounded by enemy forces. Lastly, since the force cannot retreat, unless it is relieved or can break out and it is better to have them consider the possibility of a retreat. Once the enemy retreats, they can be pursued and captured or destroyed with far less

1.
The Encirclement of Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)

Breakout (military)
–
A breakout is a military operation to end a situation of investment, through offensive operations that achieve a breakthrough. It is used in such as, The British breakout attempt from Normandy. It is one of four possible outcomes of investment, the others being relief, surrender, to be categorized a breakout, an invested force is not necessarily re

1.
Battle of Vienna 1683, the garrison in the city attacked the Turkish rear

2.
The St. Lô breakthrough, 25–31 July

Sun Tzu
–
Sun Tzu was a Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher who lived in the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, aside from his legacy as the author of The Art of War, Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and the Culture of Asia as a legendary historical figure. His birth na

1.
Statue of Sun Tzu in Yurihama, Tottori, in Japan

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A copy of The Art of War written on bamboo

The Art of War
–
The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the 5th century BC. Attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu the text is composed of 13 chapters and it is commonly thought of as a definitive work on military strategy and tactics. It was placed at the head of Chinas Seven Military Classics upon the creation in

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Inscribed bamboo slips of The Art of War, unearthed in Yinque Mountain, Linyi, Shandong in 1972, dated back to the 2nd century BCE.

2.
The beginning of The Art of War in a classical bamboo book from the reign of the Qianlong Emperor

Battle of Marathon
–
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis, the battle was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. The Greek army decisively defeated the more numerou

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The plain of Marathon today

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Darius I of Persia, as imagined by a Greek painter, 4th century BC

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A picture reconstructing the beached Persian ships at Marathon before the battle

Herodotus
–
Herodotus was a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire and lived in the fifth century BC, a contemporary of Socrates. The Histories is the work which he is known to have produced. Despite Herodotus historical significance, little is known of his personal life and his place in history and his significance may be understo

1.
A Roman copy (2nd century AD) of a Greek bust of Herodotus from the first half of the 4th century BC

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Fragment from the Histories VIII on Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 2099, early 2nd century AD

3.
Relief of Herodotus by Jean-Guillaume Moitte (1806), Louvre, Paris

4.
The statue of Herodotus in his hometown of Halicarnassus, modern Bodrum, Turkey.

Miltiades the Younger
–
Miltiades, also known as Miltiades the Younger, was the son of Cimon Coalemos, a renowned Olympic chariot-racer. He was an Athenian citizen and is mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon. Miltiades was a well-born Athenian, and considered himself a member of the Aeacidae and he came of age during the tyranny of the Peisistratids. His family w

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Outfit of an Ancient athenian warrior

2.
Miltiades

3.
"Helmet of Miltiades". The helmet was given as an offering to the temple of Zeus at Olympia by Miltiades. Inscription on the helmet: ΜΙLTIAΔES. Archaeological Museum of Olympia. His helmet read Miltiades dedicates this helmet to Zeus.

4.
"They crashed into the Persian army with tremendous force", illustration by Walter Crane in Mary Macgregor, The Story of Greece Told to Boys and Girls, London: T.C. & E.C. Jack.

Plataea
–
For the geometer moth genus, see Plataea. Plataea or Plataeae was an ancient city, located in Greece in southeastern Boeotia and it was the location of the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC, in which an alliance of Greek city-states defeated the Persians. Plataea was destroyed in the Peloponnesian War by Thebes and Sparta in 427 BC, the modern Greek town

1.
The burial mound of the Plataeans, fallen at the Battle of Marathon, Marathon

Hoplite
–
Hoplites were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers utilized the phalanx formation in order to be effective in war with fewer soldiers, the hoplites were primarily represented by free citizens—propertied farmers and artisans—who were able to afford the bronze armour suit and

3.
Hoplites shown in two attack positions, with both an overhand and underhand thrust

4.
Phalanx fighting on a black-figure amphora, c. 560 BC

First Persian invasion of Greece
–
The first Persian invasion of Greece, during the Persian Wars, began in 492 BC, and ended with the decisive Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. The invasion, consisting of two campaigns, was ordered by the Persian king Darius I primarily in order to punish the city-states of Athens. These cities had supported the cities of Ionia d

Alexander the Great
–
Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of twenty and he was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of historys most successful military

2.
Bust of a young Alexander the Great from the Hellenistic era, British Museum

3.
Aristotle tutoring Alexander, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

4.
Philip II of Macedon, Alexander's father.

Battle of the Hydaspes
–
The battle resulted in a complete Greek victory and the annexation of the Punjab, which lay beyond the far easternmost confines of the already absorbed Persian empire, into the Macedonian Empire. Alexanders decision to cross the river despite close Indian surveillance. Although victorious, it was also the most costly battle fought by the Macedonian

1.
A painting by Andre Castaigne depicting the phalanx attacking the centre during the Battle of the Hydaspes

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Porus awaits the attack of Alexander July 326 B.C.

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An imaginary Indian war elephant against Alexander's army, by Johannes van den Avele.

4.
A painting by Charles Le Brun depicting Alexander and Porus during the Battle of the Hydaspes.

Porus
–
Porus or Poros, was a king of the Pauravas whose territory in Ancient Punjab spanned the region between the Hydaspes and Acesines rivers in what is now the Punjab. Porus fought against Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes, thought to be fought at the site of modern-day Mong, after Alexanders death in 323 BC, Porus was assassinated by o

1.
Surrender of Porus to Alexander, 1865 engraving by Alonzo Chappel

2.
Porus's elephant cavalry as depicted in the 16th century German work, Cosmographia

3.
Alexander accepts the surrender of Porus

Hannibal
–
Hannibal Barca, was a Carthaginian general, considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. His father Hamilcar Barca was the leading Carthaginian commander during the First Punic War and his younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal, and he was brother-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair. One of his most famous achievements was at the outbr

1.
A marble bust, reputedly of Hannibal, originally found at the ancient city-state of Capua in Italy (some historians are uncertain of the authenticity of the portrait).

Polybius
–
Polybius was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 264–146 BC in detail. The work describes the rise of the Roman Republic to the status of dominance in the ancient Mediterranean world, Polybius was born around 200 BC in Megalopolis, Arcadia, when it was an active member of the Ac

1.
The Stele of Polybius, possible representation of the man

2.
Marcus Tullius Cicero

3.
Montesquieu

Khalid ibn al-Walid
–
Abū Sulaymān Khālid ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah al-Makhzūmī, also known as Sayf Allāh al-Maslūl, was a companion of Muhammad. He is noted for his tactics and prowess, commanding the forces of Medina under Muhammad. It was under his leadership that Arabia, for the first time in history, was united under a single political entity. His strategic achi

Battle of Walaja
–
In this battle the Sassanid army is said to have been at least three times the size of the Muslim army. Prophet Mohammad died on 8 June 632, Abu Bakr succeeded him as first Caliph, after the Ridda Wars a Muslim tribal chief raided the Persian frontier towns in Iraq. After the success of these raids, Abu Bakr planned to expand his empire and he star

1.
Map showing the region in Iraq where Battle of Walaja was fought.

Alp Arslan
–
Alp Arslan, real name Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri, was the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. As Sultan, Alp Arslan greatly expanded Seljuk territory and consolidated power, defeating rivals to his south and his victory over the Byzantines at Manzikert ushered in the Turkish settlem

1.
Alp Arslan

2.
Battle of Manzikert

3.
Alp Arslan humiliating Emperor Romanos IV after the Battle of Manzikert. From a 15th-century illustrated French translation of Boccacio 's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium.

Battle of Manzikert
–
The Battle of Manzikert was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks on August 26,1071 near Manzikert. Many of the Turks, who had been, during the 11th century, travelling westward, the brunt of the battle was borne by the professional soldiers from the eastern and western tagmata, as large numbers of mercenaries and Anatolian levie

1.
In this 15th-century French miniature depicting the Battle of Manzikert, the combatants are clad in contemporary Western European armour.

Field Marshal
–
Field marshal is a very senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually it is the highest rank in an army, and when it is and it is considered as a five-star rank in modern-day armed forces in many countries. The origin of the dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the kings horses. Promotion

1.
Generalfeldmarschall

2.
Rank insignia for Afghan National Army (ANA) Field Marshal

3.
General Ayub Khan arriving to take command of the Pakistan Army in 1951

4.
Replica of the marshal's baton of Generalfeldmarschall von Richthofen

Battle of Fraustadt
–
The Battle of Fraustadt was fought on 2 February 1706 /3 February 1706 /13 February 1706 between Sweden and Saxony-Poland and their Russian allies near Fraustadt in Poland. During the Battle of Fraustadt on February 3, August II was only 120 km away and that was one of the main reasons that Swedish General Rehnskiöld hurried to engage Schulenburg.

1.
Thanksgiving after the victory of Fraustadt – Gustaf Cederström

2.
Saxony (Left), Sweden (Right)

Daniel Morgan
–
Daniel Morgan was an American pioneer, soldier, and United States Representative from Virginia. One of the most gifted battlefield tacticians of the American Revolutionary War, Morgan is believed to have been born in the village of New Hampton, New Jersey in Lebanon Township. All four of his grandparents were Welsh immigrants who lived in Pennsylva

1.
Daniel Morgan

2.
Surrender of General Burgoyne Col. Morgan is shown in white, right of center

3.
"Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton" by Sir Joshua Reynolds

4.
Medal voted for Morgan by Congress

Battle of Cowpens
–
The Battle of Cowpens was a engagement between Patriot forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and British forces under Sir Banastre Tarleton fought on January 17,1781. As part of the campaign in the Carolinas, a force of 1,100 British under Tarleton were sent against 2000 men under Morgan, the Patriot forces were able to perform a double enve

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Painted by William Ranney in 1845, this depiction of the Battle of Cowpens shows an unnamed black soldier (left) firing his pistol and saving the life of Colonel William Washington (on white horse in center).

2.
Brig. Gen. Daniel Morgan

3.
"Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton" by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

4.
Reenactors at Cowpens Battlefield

South Carolina
–
South Carolina /ˌsaʊθ kærəˈlaɪnə/ is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state is bordered to the north by North Carolina, to the south and west by Georgia across the Savannah River, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U. S. Constitution, doing so on May 23,1788. South Carolina became the first state to vot

1.
Released in 2000

2.
Flag

3.
Table Rock State Park in the mountains of South Carolina

4.
Francis Marion National Forest in Berkeley County

American War of Independence
–
From about 1765 the American Revolution had led to increasing philosophical and political differences between Great Britain and its American colonies. The war represented a culmination of these differences in armed conflict between Patriots and the authority which they increasingly resisted. This resistance became particularly widespread in the New

1.
Clockwise from top left: Surrender of Lord Cornwallis after the Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Trenton, The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill, Battle of Long Island, Battle of Guilford Court House

2.
Notice of Stamp Act of 1765 in newspaper

3.
This iconic 1846 lithograph by Nathaniel Currier was entitled "The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor"; the phrase "Boston Tea Party" had not yet become standard. Contrary to Currier's depiction, few of the men dumping the tea were actually disguised as Indians.

4.
The British marching to Concord in April 1775

Zulu people
–
The Zulu are a Bantu ethnic group of Southern Africa and the largest ethnic group in South Africa, with an estimated 10–11 million people living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Small numbers also live in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, the Zulu were originally a major clan in what is today Northern KwaZulu-Natal, founded ca.1709

1.
Jeff Radebe

2.
Shaka, king of the Zulu. After a sketch by Lt. James King, a Port Natal merchant

3.
Lucas Radebe

4.
Zulu in traditional clothes

Impi
–
Impi is a Zulu word for any armed body of men. However, in English it is used to refer to a Zulu regiment. Its beginnings lie far back in historic tribal warfare customs, when groups of armed men called impis battled and these innovations in turn drew upon existing tribal customs, such as the iNtanga. This was an age grade tradition common among ma

1.
The impi was a military formation that transformed the face of southern Africa, on into East and central Africa. Its highest development took place under Shaka, initiator of several important organizational, weapons and tactical innovations.

2.
Zulu warrior armed with the iklwa stabbing spear (assegai) and iwisa club (knobkerrie). His kilt is of genet tails

3.
"Ready for War"; "A Zulu"; "Zulu Policemen"

4.
Zulu warrior in full regimental regalia, carrying the large isihlangu war shield. c. 1860. The upper body is covered in cow tails, the kilt is of spotted cat, genet or civet skin and the shins are decorated with cowtails. The elaborate headdress consists of a browband and face-framing flaps of leopard skin with another band of otter skin above. There are multiple ostrich feather plumes and a single upright crane's feather.

Genghis Khan
–
Genghis Khan, born Temüjin, was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. He came to power by uniting many of the tribes of Northeast Asia. After founding the Empire and being proclaimed Genghis Khan, he started the Mongol invasions that conquered most of Eurasia, campaig

1.
Genghis Khan as portrayed in a 14th-century Yuan era album.

2.
The Onon River, Mongolia, in autumn, the region where Temüjin was born and grew up.

3.
The locations of the Mongolian tribes during the Khitan Empire (907-1125)

4.
Jurchen inscription (1196) in Mongolia relating to Genghis Khan's alliance with the Jin against the Tatars.

Battle of Kirkuk (1733)
–
The battle was another in the chain of seemingly unpredictable triumphs and tragedies for both sides as the war swung wildly from the favour of one side to the other. The defeat Nader had conceded at the battle of Samara had effects beyond just the results of reducing Naders force by 30,000. Summoning his officers he began with admitting his own mi

1.
Diagram of the battle

2.
Janissaries (elite Ottoman infantry)

3.
A Persian Lancer

4.
The Battle of Agh-Darband

Nader Shah
–
Nader Shah was one of the most powerful Iranian rulers in the history of that nation, ruling as Shah of Persia from 1736 to 1747 when he was assassinated during a rebellion. Nader Shah was an Iranian who belonged to the Turcoman Afshar tribe of Greater Khorasan in northeastern Iran, Nader reunited the Persian realm and removed the invaders. He beca

1.
Painting of Nader Shah

2.
Portrait of Nader Shah

3.
The Battle of Yeghevārd was one of Nader's most tactically impressive triumphs in his military career.

4.
Nader Shah and two of his sons

Battle of Kars (1745)
–
The Battle of Kars was the last major engagement of the Ottoman-Persian War. The battle resulted in the complete and utter destruction of the Ottoman army and it was also the last of the great military triumphs of Nader Shah. During Naders last punitive expedition in Dagestan, the Persian army moved south after devastating the region with many sett

1.
A diagram of the battle of Kars, illustrating the devastating flanking manoeuvre by Nader's cavalry reserve

2.
Kars Citadel

Battle of Karnal
–
The Battle of Karnal, was a decisive victory for Nader, the Shāh of Iran, during his invasion of Mughal India. Naders forces defeated the army of Muhammad Shah within three hours, despite being outnumbered, paving the way for the Persian sack of Delhi. The engagement is considered the jewel in Naders military career as well as a tactical masterpiec

1.
Portrait of Nader Shah at the sack of Delhi in the aftermath of his victory at Karnal

2.
Mughal artillery was antiquated relative to that of Nader's Persian army.

3.
A diagram of the battle of Karnal in its entirety

4.
A dramatised scene from the battle woven into a Persian rug, (note the camels in the top corner of the rug with their backs on fire, referencing the myth of the Persian army using this tactic to scare the Mughal war elephants).

Blitzkrieg
–
During the Invasion of Poland, Western journalists adopted the term blitzkrieg to describe this form of armoured warfare. The term had appeared in 1935, in a German military periodical Deutsche Wehr, German manoeuvre operations were successful in the campaigns of 1939–1941 and by 1940 the term blitzkrieg was extensively used in Western media. Blitz

1.
The classic characteristic of what is commonly known as " blitzkrieg " is a highly mobile form of infantry and armour, working in combined arms.(German armed forces, June 1942)

2.
Ju 87 Bs over Poland, September/October 1939

3.
British armoured car and motorcycle at the Battle of Megiddo (1918).

4.
Heinz Guderian

Nazi Germany
–
Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Under Hitlers rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over all aspects of life. The official name o

1.
Hitler became Germany's head of state, with the title of Führer und Reichskanzler, in 1934.

World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directl

1.
Clockwise from top left: Chinese forces in the Battle of Wanjialing, Australian 25-pounder guns during the First Battle of El Alamein, German Stuka dive bombers on the Eastern Front in December 1943, a U.S. naval force in the Lingayen Gulf, Wilhelm Keitel signing the German Instrument of Surrender, Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad

2.
The League of Nations assembly, held in Geneva, Switzerland, 1930

3.
Adolf Hitler at a German National Socialist political rally in Weimar, October 1930

4.
Italian soldiers recruited in 1935, on their way to fight the Second Italo-Abyssinian War

Command and control
–
Command generally refers to the ability to dominate an area of situation. There are several definitions of command and control, according to older versions of U. S. The term may refer to command and control systems within a military system. The 1988 NATO definition reads, Command and control is the exercise of authority, Canadian defence scientists

1.
美軍C4ISR海報

Battle of Kiev (1941)
–
The First Battle of Kiev was the German name for the operation that resulted in a very large encirclement of Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kiev during World War II. This encirclement is considered the largest encirclement in the history of warfare, the operation ran from 7 August to 26 September 1941 as part of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis inv

1.
Guderian at a forward command post for one of his panzer regiments near Kiev, 1941

2.
The eastern front at the time of the Battle of Kiev. (click to enlarge)

3.
107,540 Soviet personnel were awarded the medal for the defence of Kiev from 21 June 1941.

Battle of St. Vith
–
The town of St. Vith, a vital road junction, was close to the boundary between the 5th and Sepp Dietrich’s Sixth Panzer Army, the two strongest units of the attack. St. Vith was also close to the end of the Losheim Gap, a critical valley through the densely forested ridges of the Ardennes Forest. Opposing this drive were units of the U. S. VIII Cor

1.
St. Vith, Belgium

2.
The Ardennes area of Belgium and Germany just before the German Ardennes counteroffensive, December 15, 1944.

3.
St. Vith area and surroundings, December 15-19th, 1944. (U.S. Army CMH)

4.
Progress of the German Ardennes counteroffensive, December 16–25, 1944.

Battle of Moscow
–
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a 600 km sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942, the Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitlers attack on Moscow, capital of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the

1.
December 1941. Fresh forces going to the front from Moscow.

2.
With all the men at the Front, Moscow women dig anti-tank trenches around Moscow in 1941

3.
The German offensives during operation Typhoon

4.
The mud of the rasputitsa before Moscow, November 1941

Battle of the Trebia
–
It was a resounding Roman defeat with heavy losses, and yet some 10,000 and more Romans, over 2.5 legions, survived on the field and retreated in order to Placentia. In this battle, Hannibal got the better of the Romans by exercising the careful and innovative planning for which he was famous. The battle took place in the country of the Province of

1.
This map of the battlefield supports J. Wells' 1926 view that the Romans camped on the left bank and crossed to the right. This article adopts Mommsen's classic view that the Romans camped on the right bank and crossed to the left.

Battle of San Lorenzo
–
The Battle of San Lorenzo was fought on February 3,1813 in San Lorenzo, Argentina, then part of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. A Spanish Royalist force under the command of Antonio Zabala was defeated by the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers and this battle was the baptism of fire for this military unit, and for San Martín in the Spanish

1.
Painting of the battle by Ángel della Valle.

2.
The "Field of Glory" at San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, site of the battle. The San Carlos Convent and the monument of the battle are seen in the background.

3.
José de San Martín, trapped under his dead horse during the battle, is saved by Juan Bautista Cabral.

1.
A U.S. Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator bomber, flying over explosions on the Salamaua Peninsula, where the port is located.

2.
The Salamaua-Lae area. Salamaua is on the small peninsula just right of centre and Lae is near the mouth of the Markham River (upper right).

3.
29 July 1943. Commandos from the Australian 2/3rd Independent Company take up position in weapon pits during an attack on Timbered Knoll, north of Orodubi, between Mubo and Salamaua. (A still from the film Assault on Salamaua by Damien Parer)

4.
4 September 1943. The Australian 9th Division makes its amphibious landing east of Lae. LSTs can be seen completing their unloading. A tug is in the foreground and the Saruwaged Range is in the distance.